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CNT Update
June 2005
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In this edition:
1. Read: Report Shows that High Transportation Costs Hurt Households
and Communities
2. Read: Report Shows that Consumers Will Modify Electricity Demand
Based on Changing Prices
3. Celebrate: Safe Routes to School Legislation to Become Law
4. Save the Date: Edens Lost and Found Premieres in Chicago -- July 26th
5. Apply: Conservation and Native Landscaping Award
6. Participate: Online Discussion on Using the American Community Survey
June 28th
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1. Report Shows that High Transportation Costs Hurt Households and
Communities
Along with the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP), CNT
released Driven to Spend: Pumping Dollars out of Our Households and
Communities. The report examines the impacts of transportation spending
on households in the 28 metro areas for which the federal government
collects expenditure data. It also looks at the impact rising gas
prices have had on both households and regional economies.
Three key findings of the report are:
- Households in regions that have invested in public transportation reap
financial benefits from having access to affordable mobility options,
even as gas prices rise.
- Lower-income households are particularly burdened by higher
transportation costs since these expenditures claim a greater
percentage of their budgets.
- Regions with public transit are losing less per household from
the increase in gas prices than those without transit options,
effectively lowering household transportation expenditures and
converting transportation dollars that would otherwise leave the
region through the gas pump to dollars that help pay for local
transportation services and other household expenses.
Read the report at:
http://tinyurl.com/crznk
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2. Report Shows that Consumers Will Modify Electricity Demand Based on
Changing Prices
CNT's Community Energy Cooperative released the evaluation of the
second year of the Energy-Smart Pricing Plan (ESPP). ESPP is the
first program in the nation to offer residential customers variable,
hourly pricing, so rather than pay the same price all the time,
participants pay the actual market price. The evaluation confirmed
the promising results found in the previous year's evaluation: Customers
saved money while managing their energy use in ways that benefited the
electrical system and the environment.
Read the evaluation at:
http://tinyurl.com/83jk2
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3. Safe Routes to School Legislation to Become Law
Safe Routes to School legislation (HB744), which will use federal
funding to develop bicycle and pedestrian safety and traffic
calming projects near schools, awaits the signature of Governor
Blagojevich. Funds will be administered by the Illinois Department
of Transportation.
The bill, which was strongly advocated for by CNT's Chicagoland
Transportation and Air Quality Commission, arose to address several
trends. The number of children walking or biking to school has dwindled
in the last 30 years; walking has plummeted from 66 to 13 percent,
and cycling has dropped 63 percent. This decline has contributed
to a series of problems. It has been estimated that traffic volume
during the morning commute has risen by 20-30 percent as a result of
parents dropping their kids off at school. And what was a major form of
physical activity for kids has disappeared; the percentage of children
6 to 11 who are overweight has more than tripled in the last 30 years.
Safe Routes to School represents a chance to begin to reverse these
trends and address these problems.
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4. Edens Lost and Found Premieres in Chicago -- July 26th
Edens Lost and Found, a PBS documentary exploring the green revival
of Chicago and featuring CNT's Wireless Community Network project,
premieres at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park at 7:00 p.m. The
screening is free and open to the public.
Look for more details as the event nears at:
http://www.edenslostandfound.org/
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5. Conservation and Native Landscaping Award
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Chicago Wilderness
are awarding sites that are exemplary for their use of native
landscaping or that demonstrate the principles and best practices
of conservation-style development. Sites owned or maintained by
corporations (including developers and not-for-profits), public sector
entities and public-private partnerships can be nominated.
Nominations must be submitted by July 27. Reviews of the nominated
sites will be conducted in August and September, with an award ceremony
to follow.
Get more information and access the online award application form:
http://www.epa.gov/greenacres/awards.html
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6. Online Discussion on Using the American Community Survey -- June 28th
KnowledgePlex and the Brookings Institution Urban Markets Initiative
(UMI) will host an online discussion entitled Tracking Who We Are
and Where We Are Going: Using the American Community Survey (ACS) at
2:00 p.m. ET. The ACS, the cornerstone of the new decennial census,
is a tool for giving communities a fresh look at how they are changing.
Get more details on the discussion and how to participate at:
http://www.knowledgeplex.org/xchat.html
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2005 Center for Neighborhood Technology
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