Center for Neighborhood Technology - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) is a non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, which is committed to sustainable development

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...

and livable urban

Urban area

An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

communities. CNT, as an “innovations center for urban sustainability”, researches, invents, and tests urban strategies that use resources more efficiently and equitably. Over the years, CNT’s work, especially in the areas of climate, energy, natural resources, transportation and community development, has paid off by fueling a generation of community development and learning institutions, earning CNT a reputation as an economic innovator and leader in the field of creative sustainable development.

The organization was founded in 1978 by Scott Bernstein, Stanley Hallett

Stanley Hallett

Stanley James Hallett was an American urban planner and specialist in urban community development who helped seed numerous innovative initiatives and organizations throughout his career...

, and Dr. John Martin. It has recently grown to include an office in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

. CNT has been responsible for developing a variety of projects. It launched two non-profits to advance its mission; CNT Energy, an organization that develops and implements initiatives to help consumers and communities control energy costs and reduce energy use; and I-GO

I-GO

I-GO is a Chicago-based not-for-profit car sharing organization.- Overview :I-GO is an independent 501 established in 2002 by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and implementing new strategies that make urban communities more livable and...

, a membership-based car sharing organization that provides hourly rental of a fleet of cars located across Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. It also created Wireless Community Networks, a wireless

Wireless

Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...

internet access

Internet access

Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....

project which uses a mesh network. In addition, their Urban Practice Consulting offers a unique menu of tools and strategies which can be applied individually or collectively to urban development and redevelopment issues.

Leadership

Scott Bernstein is CNT's founder and President. Kathryn Tholin was appointed CEO of CNT in September 2005, after serving as the interim CEO since February 2005. Stephen Perkins, Ph.D., who joined CNT in 1980, is CNT's Senior Vice President, and Jacky Grimshaw, who joined CNT in 1992, is CNT's Vice President for Policy, Transportation & Community Development.

A Creative and Effective Institution

CNT was recognized on April 28, 2009, as one of only eight organizations from around the world to receive the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. CNT received the award for its use of cutting-edge research to develop and implement transformative ideas for improving the quality of life in urban neighborhoods, including car sharing and energy audits. The award recognizes organizations that are “highly creative and effective, have made an extraordinary impact in their fields and are helping to address some of the world’s most challenging problems.”
This award, one of many in CNT's history, demonstrates CNT's dedication to the continuing pursuit of effective solutions that promote more livable and sustainable urban communities and contribute to national urban policy.

Change begins at home: leading by example

In 2000, the Center for Neighborhood Technology renovated their offices to the highest standards of the LEED

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....

Green Building Rating System. In December 2005, the building became the thirteenth building to receive a “Platinum” LEED ranking.

Climate

The Center for Neighborhood Technology has been conducting research and developing and testing innovative programs to use urban resources more efficiently for almost 30 years. These efforts inevitably relate to the growing concerns about reducing greenhouse gas emissions and slowing global warming.

CNT’s research has shown that cities can be the most efficient places to live, with their lower per capita greenhouse gas emissions due to efficient land use and transportation alternatives. Because urban areas are compact and have extensive mass transit and communication networks, they offer the greatest opportunities to help solve the climate crisis by expanding and enhancing their existing strategies for reducing carbon emissions.

In September 2008, the City of Chicago released its Climate Action Plan, which describes the major effects climate change could have on the city and suggests ways to address those challenges. CNT led the mitigation research team for the Chicago Climate Change Task Force that developed the report.

CNT is not merely working to promote change locally however; it also took part in developing the Presidential Climate Action Plan, a comprehensive and detailed plan to help the next President of the United States take action on global warming within the first 100 days of the new administration.

Energy

Using energy efficiently has been a critical focus of CNT’s efforts to improve urban sustainability. In 2000, CNT Energy (formerly known as the Community Energy Cooperative) was created to explore new ways to measure energy usage and to assist individual consumers and concerned communities in achieving sustainable, affordable energy solutions. CNT Energy’s areas of focus include building performance and energy efficiency, real-time electricity pricing, climate change analysis, regional energy planning, and green building research and evaluation.

In June 2008, CNT launched the Illinois Smart Grid Initiative, a voluntary group of state and local government, as well as consumer, business, environmental and utility stakeholders that will collaborate to examine how consumers can benefit from a comprehensive overhaul and modernization of the power grid in Illinois.

CNT, in collaboration with the Community Investment Corporation, created the Cook County Energy Savers to provide owners of multi-family buildings with recommendations and solutions for energy efficiency. It is “a one-stop energy efficiency shop” that offers energy assessments, financing options for implementing energy recommendations, assistance with coordinating tax benefits, and annual reports on energy performance.

One of CNT Energy’s most recent projects is Power Smart Pricing, which allows users to pay the hourly, wholesale market price of electricity, and save money by timing their electricity usage to the hours when it is cheapest.

Natural Resources

CNT’s work with natural resources is concentrated on making the most of natural resources, and using them in an intelligent and sustainable way. Areas of focus include developing tools to map and analyze the values of green infrastructure, researching and demonstrating stormwater best management practices (BMPs), and promoting changes in local, regional and national policy.

As a result of a 2000 Openlands conference on natural resource protection in the tri-state (Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, and Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

) area, and Openlands’ inability to find a map of the green infrastructure for the three states, CNT launched the Natural Connections project. A data archive for a 19-county region was created, allowing users to download most of the data collected on green infrastructure for those areas. An interactive web mapping tool allows users to take this data and create customized maps of the region’s green infrastructure.

In 2005, CNT developed a way to measure the effects of storm water management in an effort to promote green infrastructure that better handles storm water (i.e. rain garden

Rain garden

A rain garden is a planted depression that allows rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, parking lots, and compacted lawn areas the opportunity to be absorbed...

s, porous pavement

Pervious concrete

Pervious concrete is a special type of concrete with a high porosity used for concrete flatwork applications that allows water from precipitation and other sources to pass directly through, thereby reducing the runoff from a site and allowing groundwater recharge. The high porosity is attained by a...

, green roof

Green roof

A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...

s, drainage swales

Swale

Swale is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its council is based in Sittingbourne. The borough is named after the narrow channel called The Swale, a channel that separates the mainland of Kent from the Isle of Sheppey, and which occupies the central part of the...

). The Green Values calculator allows developers, regulators or simple property owners “to assess the economic and hydrological impact of green vs. conventional storm water management.”

The recently added rain garden in Pulaski Park, built by volunteers and organized by CNT in collaboration with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) Students and Young Professionals Committee and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) as part of the 2008 WEF Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFtec), is just one example of how green infrastructure can be beautiful as well as beneficial.

Transportation & Community Development

CNT promotes research and action on understanding housing and transportation affordability, revitalizing and developing communities and public involvement in shaping policy. Its work has led to the creation of the I-GO carsharing program, and a number of tools created to increase awareness of the importance of transportation planning and promote better mass transit.

CNT is a founder of the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership (STPP), which is a nationwide coalition working to promote smarter transportation choices, and CNT’s own Jacky Grimshaw is the Chair of the STPP steering committee.

In 2003, CNT, along with Reconnecting America and Strategic Economics, launched the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD) to help bring transit-oriented development

Transit-oriented development

A transit-oriented development is a mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership...

(TOD) to scale as a nationally recognized real estate product.

As part of their commitment to TOD, CNT helped form the Lake Street Coalition, which successfully fought to keep the 'L'

Chicago 'L'

The L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority...

station at Pulaski and Lake Streets open when the CTA

Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....

threatened to close it in the early 1990s. They then joined with another member of the Lake Street Coalition, Bethel New Life, in an effort to revitalize and rehabilitate the area surrounding the 'L' station; initiating a neighborhood planning process. CNT has also signed agreements with two communities, Blue Island

Blue Island, Illinois

Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 22,556 at the 2010 census. Blue Island was established in the 1830s as a way station for settlers traveling on the Vincennes Trace, and the settlement prospered because it was conveniently situated a day's journey outside of Chicago...

and Harvey

Harvey, Illinois

Harvey is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, near Chicago. The population was 30,000 at the 2000 census.Harvey is bordered by Dixmoor, Riverdale and Blue Island to the north, Posen and Markham to the west, South Holland, Phoenix, and Dolton to the east, and East Hazel Crest to the...

, for a public planning project that draws community benefits from already existing but undervalued transit and freight assets in Cook County

Cook County, Illinois

Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...

suburbs.

CNT’s research into how transportation costs associated with location can affect housing affordability, which led to Location Efficient Mortgage

Location Efficient Mortgage

Location Efficient Mortgage is a mortgage available to people who buy a home in locations where they don't need to rely on automobiles as much or at all for transportation. Location efficient mortgages allow people to buy more expensive homes than they normally would be able by factoring in the...

s (LEMs), also led them to co-develop with CTOD a tool to measure the true affordability of housing – the Housing + Transportation Affordability Index. In 2008, the Housing + Transportation Affordability Index became available through an interactive look-up and mapping website, which measures the affordability of housing for 52 metropolitan areas.

In the March 18 and 19, 2009, Federal hearing on “Livable Communities, Transit Oriented Development, and Incorporating Green Building Practices into Federal Housing and Transportation Policy”, CNT's work (some of it through CTOD) was cited several times in the testimonies of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government...

), Secretary, Shaun Donovan

Shaun Donovan

Shaun L.S. Donovan is the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, serving in the cabinet of President Barack Obama. Prior to this he headed the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development...

, and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT

United States Department of Transportation

The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...

) Secretary, Ray LaHood

Ray LaHood

Raymond H. "Ray" LaHood is a Republican politician from Illinois who is currently the United States Secretary of Transportation, having served since 2009. Previously, he represented the Illinois's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven terms .-Early life and...

as they announced the creation of an interagency partnership to promote sustainable communities through coordinating housing and transportation policy and investments.

Wet cleaning

During the 1990s, with funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...

and others, CNT began a research project with the Greener Cleaner to develop and test the viability of wet cleaning technology. Wet cleaning, in place of traditional dry cleaning methods, reduces and even eliminates the use of solvents that are hazardous both to workers and communities. Working with industry trade associations and others, CNT staff were able to promote the use of wet cleaning and help create pollution prevention recognition and certification programs.

Wireless Community Networks (WCN)

WCN is a community wireless network

Wireless community network

Wireless community networks or wireless community projects are the organizations that attempt to take a grassroots approach to providing a viable alternative to municipal wireless networks for consumers....

project developed by the Center for Neighborhood Technology for the Chicago area. Started in 2002, WCN uses a mesh network to provide high-speed internet access

Internet access

Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....

to members of local communities. The project is part of a community economic development

Economic development

Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...

strategy, and seeks to narrow the digital divide

Digital divide

The Digital Divide refers to inequalities between individuals, households, business, and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels in access to information and communication technologies and Internet connectivity and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information...

by operating in underserved areas.

External links

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