Center for Neighborhood Technology

Are We Better Prepared for Disasters?

One year after Hurricane Katrina hit and devastated New Orleans and parts of Mississippi, our country reflects on what has improved and what still remains unresolved. ‘What have we learned?’, we all seem to ask. The need to answer that question seems as fundamental as ‘What can we do?’ was in the shaky days following the hurricane.

So one year later, and what some feel none-the-wiser, the nation looks at disaster relief with an eye to both how we are reacting and what must be done to prepare for the future. Reaction has been slow in the quick year since. In New Orleans, garbage remains strewn throughout parts of the city, abandoned houses remain untouched; many people say not much has improved.

So what exactly have we learned? And what can we do to ensure that lessons learned have enabled us to move forward and that history does not forget.

In the immediate days following the hurricane, CNT staff traveled down to Mississippi with the intent on restoring crucial communications for residents and evacuees. For days, bewildered evacuees traveled to shelters without the means to fulfill one of the first instincts following something of that magnitude: communication with loved ones.

Volunteer staff installed Wi-Fi mesh networks, which enabled people to use the internet to login to the FEMA site, as well as use voice-over IP to call loved ones. The mesh networks work in disaster situations because they are made up of a series of nodes that form a decentralized, ‘mesh’ grid that can withstand such disasters because they do not require underground cables or centralized towers.

Learn more about CNT’s work with mesh-networks, including what we have done in Chicago neighborhoods, and how they can aid in better preparation for these times.

August Update

August 2006

NEWS AROUND THE REGION

1. Governor Signs Energy Bill
2. Morton Arboretum Partners with GRID
3. Housing + Transportation Affordability Index Update
4. TransopolySM

WHAT’S NEW AT CNT?

1. Native Garden Up for USEPA Award
2. CNT’er Awarded Active Living Resource Center Scholarship
3. CNT Says Goodbye and Hello

RESOURCES

1. CNT in the News
2. Job Announcements

EVENTS

1. I-GO Ribbon Cuttings
2. Rail-Volution Conference
3. ProWalk/ProBike Conference

NEWS AROUND THE REGION

1. Governor Signs Energy Bill

On June 30, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation requiring utilities to provide residential consumers with access to hourly, market-based electricity prices. The law requires utilities to begin offering a real-time pricing option by January 1, 2007.

“This is an important step for Illinois consumers,” said Kathryn Tholin, general manager of the Community Energy Cooperative, and CEO of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. “Illinois has taken a national leadership role in recognizing that a real-time pricing option for residential consumers, not just for large customers, can have a positive impact on energy costs and the operation of the electrical system overall.”

Link to full article: http://www.energycooperative.org/news.php

2. Morton Arboretum Partners with GRID

CNT’s GRID (Geographic Research and Information Department) has been selected to create an interactive Internet-based GIS map depicting the Pre-European settlement vegetation of the Chicago Wilderness region. The result will be an internet document describing the vegetation present in the Illinois portion of the Chicago Wilderness region at the time of European settlement, and follows the Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan.

Morton Arboretum hopes the maps will provide a guide for restoration efforts in the region. By providing a better understanding of pre-settlement landscape conditions and processes, this project will lead to more conservation and restoration of regional biodiversity.

3. Housing + Transportation Affordability Index Update

Over 150 leaders from the region gathered on June 29th for CNT’s Housing + Transportation: Moving the Region Toward Greater Affordability forum, to discuss how the costs for both housing and transportation affect the overall affordability of the Chicago region. The discussion was prefaced by an overview of new research by CNT and the Center for Transit Oriented Development which resulted in the development of a new tool to measure household transportation costs at the neighborhood level, the Housing & Transportation Affordability Index.

Since the event, CNT has been meeting with groups and agencies in the Chicago region to determine how the H&T Affordability Index might be used to evaluate transit project alternatives, and to measure progress toward regional goals for quality of life, affordability, and transportation choice.

Many other metropolitan areas are also interested in using the H&T Affordability Index for regional planning and advocacy, including Atlanta, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Boston. By mid-fall, we will have the Index developed for use in 50 metropolitan areas, and the maps and index results will be online and available by spring 2007.

In October, CNT and other regionally focused organizations will co-host a summit led by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) on how CMAP in its new role can help individual communities and the region overall to achieve their visions for an affordable, livable and economically strong region. The H&T Index, will be one of the items discussed at the summit.

The “Affordability Index: A New Tool for Measuring the True Affordability of a Housing Choice”, published by the Brookings Institution Urban Markets Initiative can be found at http://www.cnt.org/repository/AffordabilityIndexBrief.pdf.

4. TransopolySMCNT’s Transopoly series has successfully come to an end in the Chicagoland region. We will be starting a series of eight Neighborhood Transopoly sessions in Champaign-Urbana this September to help the Mass Transit District meet future public demand for travel options. Eventually the game will be used in 11 geographic regions throughout Northeastern Illinois to gather valuable community data.Transopoly has been used successfully since 2001 to help groups articulate their transportation priorities within reasonable financial limits. To learn more about CNT’s innovative game, visit http://transopoly.cnt.org/

WHAT’S NEW AT CNT?

1. CNT’s Native Garden Up for EPA Award

In preparation for the USEPA’s arrival, we put down fresh yard clippings, planted some Morning Star Sedge, and added signs to identify all the diverse species. Other than that, our low-maintenance garden was ready for a visit by the EPA, in anticipation of the 2006 Conservation and Native Landscaping Award, sponsored by USEPA and Chicago Wilderness.

CNT’s native garden is a feature of our LEED-Certified Platinum Green Building Renovation. The garden serves as a cooling feature to the area, while also acting as a natural filter for stormwater runoff from the building.

You can learn more about our green renovation at http://building.cnt.org, or to support the Green Building Fund visit http://building.cnt.org/support

2. CNT’er Awarded Active Living Resource Center Scholarship

Based on his dedication and accomplishments toward improving opportunities for walking and bicycling in the community, Ben Helphand, our Pedestrian Program Manager, was recognized by the National Center for Bicycling & Walking.

He will be presenting “Pedestrian Benefits of Car Sharing” at the conference Pro Walk/Pro Bike in Madison, WI, September 5-8th, presented by the National Center for Bicycling & Walking. Ben’s presentation is part of research we conducted which looks at the mode-shift implications of I-GO. Surveys show that 1/4 of people who sign up for I-GO walk more after joining.

Learn more about CNT’s work to make more walkable, livable communities: http://www.cnt.org/tsp/trans/ctaqc/cc/caucus.php

3. CNT Says Goodbye and Hello

In 28 years, CNT has been home to some great thinkers and do’ers and just as the seasons change, so do we. Recently we’ve gone through a “change of seasons”.

Kara Heffernan was CNT’s Strategic Communications Analyst and all-around writing guru. She has moved back to her favorite city, New York, to use her technical skills in the software development department at the City University of New York.

Zoe Heller provided service to CNT’s transportation-linked economic development, CTAQ, and GRID programs. In June she left to take a new position at the San Francisco office of the US EPA. Zoe, who has an MA in Public Administration, is using the skills she honed at CNT to help the EPA undertake new programs of community engagement and environmental justice related to brownfield reclamation.

Paul Smith was CNT’s Technical Specialist, who traveled to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to provide displaced citizens with much-needed wireless networks to contact family and friends in that crucial period following the disaster, as part of CNT’s Wireless Community Network.

Justin Keen provided support as a summer intern in our Transportation & Air Quality division to the public engagement project, Transopoly, which CNT just completed for the Chicago Metropolitan Agency on Planning.

Carla Young spent the summer assisting in the Development and Communications Department. It was Carla’s second summer at CNT, as part of the KidStart program. We wish her well in her next adventure: Texas.

Thanks and good luck!

We also have some new staff who will undoubtedly bring fresh insights and hard work to our programs.

Emily Metz is a fellow from Project 55, and will be working in our Transportation Department, as Project Manager of Clean Air Counts.

Stephanie Dock is also part of Project 55 and will be working as an Economic Development Associate, primarily on our Blue Island and Harvey projects.

Alex Bystryn is joining us for the summer, on lease from the University of Chicago. Alex is a Water Quality Associate for the Transportation Department.

Daniel Hollander joins us for the second summer as an intern in the Research and Development Department.

Tamar Pashtan and Matt Schiffman are interning for the summer for I-GO, and have helped out with outreach at the summer events.

RESOURCES

1. CNT in the News

The City of Chicago is receiving much press of late about the city-wide effort to become the “greenest city in the world”.
“Greening of Chicago Starts at the Top Floor”, Washington Post
http://info.cnt.org/~annette/CNT%20Update/WashPost_Green%20Chicago_081006.pdf

Another regional wide issue is the combined costs of housing and transportation in determining what is an affordable place to live in the Chicago region. In many cases, the results are surprising.
“Mix of Housing, Travel Costs Make Overlooked Suburbs Attractive”, Crain’s Chicago Business
http://info.cnt.org/~annette/CNT%20Update/H+T_Crains_070706.pdf

Rising gas prices, rising gas prices, rising gas prices. The issue dominates media coverage. The next question is what we can do to avoid the pressure at the pump. Enter I-GO Car Sharing.
“Gas Prices Prompt Drivers to find Alternatives”, CBS News http://info.cnt.org/~annette/CNT%20Update/I-GO_CBS_080806.pdf

CNT’s Green Infrastructure Mapping Project Launches in Tri-State area, with 170 layers of eco-data. Map junkies rejoice.
“Map Quest for Data-Minded Decision Makers”, Northwest Indiana Times
http://info.cnt.org/~annette/CNT%20Update/GRID_NW%20IN%20News_061706.pdf

2. New Jobs Openings at CNT

To view job descriptions, click on the links below.

Natural Resources Portfolio Manager, posted 8/11/06
http://www.cnt.org/jobs?job=natural-resources-manager&nofoot=1

Publications and Grants Writer, posted 8/11/06
http://www.cnt.org/jobs?job=publications-grants-writer&nofoot=1

GIS Assistant, posted 7/21/06
http://www.cnt.org/jobs?job=gis-assistant

I-GO Fleet Assistant, posted 7/21/06
http://www.cnt.org/jobs?job=i-go-fleet-assistant

Check back for more job postings at http://www.cnt.org/jobs

EVENTS

1. I-GO Ribbon Cuttings

Aug 26th 10am Join Alderman Manuel Flores and the I-GO Team in unveiling the newest West Bucktown car at the McDonalds parking lot 1951 N. Western.

Aug 30th 1pm I-GO to IKEA. I-GO and IKEA have joined forces to bring I-GO members “rock star” parking at the Bolingbrook location 750 E. Boughton Road. Refreshments and driving credits will be on hand at this unique “car-starting” event.

Sept 16th Time TBA Have fun with your family at the Center for Neighborhood Technology’s Family Fun Day 445 N Sacramento and stay for the ribbon-cutting to introduce a Toyota Prius I-GO to East Garfield Park.

http://www.igocars.org

2. Rail-Volution Conference, November 5-8, Chicago, IL

Rail-Volution is, first and foremost, a conference for passionate practitioners - people from all perspectives who believe strongly in the role of land use and transit as equal partners in the quest for greater livability and greater communities. Jacky Grimshaw, Vice President for Policy, Transportation and Community Development, will be a featured speaker as well as Board Member, Susan Mudd.

http://www.railvolution.com

3. 14th International Conference on Walking & Bicycling, September 5-8, Madison, WI

The National Center for Bicycling & Walking’s Pro Walk/Pro Bike biennial conference series typically attracts an international gathering of more than 600 bicycle and pedestrian program specialists, advocates, and government leaders committed to improving conditions for bicycling and walking. Look for CNT’s Ben Helphand at this conference. We hear he’s riding his bike up to Madison if you want to join him!

http://www.bikewalk.org/conference/index.html

Suburban Dwellers Demand Alternate Transportation

A recent article from the Pioneer Press addresses not only alternate transportation options for those in the city - often that’s the easy issue - but takes on the seeming lack of choices those living in the suburbs often grapple with.

For residents who live in the city or the inner-ring suburbs like Oak Park, Forest Park and Evanston, the idea of getting rid of cars and using I-GO, Metra, the El, or simply just biking or walking, seems far more feasible than if you live in Barrington, for example.

The decision to not own a car, or reduce the amount per household, is one that more are choosing everyday, for a whole bundle of reasons like gas prices, environmental and health concerns, lack of parking, and economic constraints. And these are universal no matter where we live.

As a nation, we all feel the constraints of owning, operating, and maintaining a car. For our friends in the suburbs, more and better options for commute and daily travel are turning up as a result of demand. City and suburban dwellers alike are turning to alternative choices.

To read more about this, check out the Pioneer Press article here.

(photo courtesy of Joel Lerner/Staff Photographer/Pioneer Press)

I-GO Car Sharing Has Record Month

We were ecstatic when I-GO Sales and Marketing Associate, Melissa Haeffner, emailed CNT staff with the subject heading, “200th I-GO member signed up today!”

Since its 2002 startup, I-GO has been steadily acquiring new members each month. And July marks the first time in their history to have 200 members sign up in just one month. I-GO is also quickly traveling the road to signing up its 3000th member.

It makes perfect sense that an innovative program like car-sharing is really picking up steam in a time that we constantly hear about rising gas prices. I-GO CEO Sharon Feigon points out, “Our program really makes it possible for people to get around without owning a car. There are a lot of smart people in Chicago who have realized that they can save a lot of money - thousands of dollars annually - and avoid high gas prices, by being an I-GO member”.

We think car-sharing is the wave of the future. And the present. I-GO’s successes have proven that residents in the Chicagoland area are taking notice and joining up in record numbers. Check out I-GO’s website and jump on the bandwagon, or the low-emissions car as the case may be!

(Photo courtesy of Joel Lerner/Staff Photographer/Pioneer Press)