CNT is excited to announce the Reinventing Chicago conversation and Hackathon! The event is a one-day conversation between the public and three great thinkers on technology and sustainability followed by a weekend-long Hackathon in which developers will compete with each other to turn the ideas raised at the conversation into reality. The conversation is being hosted by Red Frog Events and the Hackathon is hosted by TechNexus Venture Collaborative on October 4 and October 5-7, respectively.
Reinventing Chicago: What’s Technology Got to Do with It? will seek to answer the question: how can the “placeless” internet address problems like housing, transportation, and energy usage and support sustainable development of real places? What sorts of apps and tools can be developed to facilitate a smarter use of land, buildings, and resources? These are the sorts of issues our three experts will be addressing during the conversation. Read more »
Thursday, August 30th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
CNT’s president Scott Bernstein has contributed a chapter on poverty and transportation to Kenan Heise’s upcoming book, The Book of the Poor: Who They Are, What They Say, and How to End Their Poverty. The book is the result of fifty years Heise spent interviewing individuals who live below the poverty line, and offers a unique point of view on an oft-discussed subject.
Bernstein’s chapter calls for reducing the poor’s exposure to high costs of transportation by guaranteeing better transportation choices on a basis that the poor can afford. Just as so-called “food deserts” describe areas with no affordable grocery stores, too many of our neighborhoods are “train deserts,” where poor peoples’ modest income can’t keep pace with the combined cost of housing and transportation. Scott’s essay offers a bold yet practical set of recommendations for quickly getting on the path to improving this situation. Read more »
Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 at 10:59 am
In a US EPA-funded project, CNT is using its highly acclaimed guide – The Value of Green Infrastructure: A Guide to Recognizing Its Economic, Environmental and Social Benefits to help showcase the added economic benefits of green infrastructure.
CNT released the guide in 2011 to provide municipalities with a methodology for assessing the financial, environmental and community benefits of select green infrastructure elements. By demonstrating that a comprehensive green infrastructure strategy can help reduce the economic burden of water management while improving a community’s quality of life, CNT has helped establish green infrastructure as part of a viable planning solution to stormwater management. The City of Lancaster, PA will be used as the basis of the upcoming case study. Lancaster developed its own Green Infrastructure Plan in 2010 to establish a more sustainable community and reduce the volume of stormwater runoff returned to local waterways. Read more »
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Nicor Gas launched an Economic Redevelopment Program in June, 2011 as part of its strategy to help owners of commercial, industrial, and large multifamily apartment buildings increase the energy efficiency of their buildings, reduce overhead costs, and provide more affordable, sustainable living for their tenants. Energy efficiency projects can seem intimidating, promising documents filled with technical jargon and expensive futuristic gadgets. The financial incentives, extensive technical assistance and consistent project guidance provided by Nicor’s program remove these barriers to the redevelopment process, making it possible for even the least initiated to implement effective changes. Read more »
