Center for Neighborhood Technology

In September, CNT celebrated our 40th Anniversary with help from 250 of our closest friends. Our opening reception highlighted 40 years of CNT’s accomplishments and innovations. From early work launching energy efficiency programs, to tracking indicators to predict neighborhood change, to creating greener practices at dry cleaners, our ideas and projects have been influential in moving cities toward sustainability and equity. CNT’s influence on the nonprofit landscape in Chicago and nationally has also been enormous: several thriving nonprofits including Elevate Energy, the Shared Use Mobility Center, and Faith in Place had their roots at CNT.

Our wonderful panel: Chicago's Chief Equity Officer Candace Moore, Chief of Policy Dan Lurie, CNT’s Jacky Grimshaw, Chief Engagement Officer Juan Carlos Linares, CNT’s Bob Dean, and Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara

The event looked forward to the next 40 years of impact. Our current work – on climate, water, transportation, and community development – echoes our past accomplishments, reshaped to address today’s challenges. The program was capped by a panel discussion with representatives of Mayor Lightfoot’s new administration, who discussed how the City will be advancing its equity and environmental priorities.

Thanks to our sponsors listed at the end of this document, without whose help the event would not have been possible. And thanks to all who could attend to show their support for CNT!

CNT’s co-founder and long-time visionary leader, Scott Bernstein, stepped down from the organization in September. Scott has had tremendous influence in making cities more equitable and more sustainable. From his innovative ideas for handling water, energy, transportation, and other critical urban systems, to his collaboration with our research scientists in pioneering data analysis of underlying environmental and economic patterns in order to find sustainable solutions – in these and many other ways Scott has helped change the way cities function today, for all of us.

With fellow urban visionary Stan Hallett, Scott co-founded CNT in 1978 to advance environmental sustainability and social equity, a mission that the organization continues to this day. Under Scott’s leadership, CNT has influenced national policy debates and local initiatives through pioneering work in fields as diverse as energy efficiency, transit-oriented development, carsharing, climate protection, infrastructure alternatives, urban flooding and poverty reduction.

Our 40th Anniversary event celebrated Scott’s accomplishments and contributions to the field of urban sustainability. We collected videos from many of Scott’s partners over the years to pay tribute to his ideas and influence. A compiled video, along with Senator Durbin’s tribute to CNT and Scott, can be viewed below:

RainReady Oak Park is a partnership between CNT and the Village of Oak Park to help residents install sustainable landscaping that reduces the burden on the local sewer, reduces the risk of drainage problems at homes, and provides community health and environmental benefits. Since the program launched in 2017, RainReady Oak Park has completed 36 rain gardens, 4 dry wells, and 56 depaving projects. The program has leveraged $3.25 private dollars for every grant dollar spent, and an estimated 724,000 gallons of rain has been diverted from the local sewer system by RainReady landscaping. In 2020, CNT will continue this program and expand it to other communities.

Between 2007 and 2016 in Chicago, more than $400 Million in insurance payments for flooding was paid to residents. In 2019, CNT explored an often-overlooked aspect of this problem: the disproportionate impact of urban flooding in communities of color, much of it occurring outside the floodplains delineated in the FEMA flood risk maps. In the context of climate change, this problem will quickly worsen. To ensure that the solutions to climate vulnerability are community-led, CNT is now providing technical assistance to grassroots organizations to improve climate resilience in their communities.

CNT continued to advance equitable transit-oriented development, or eTOD – which ensures that benefit of new transit investment accrues to those who need it most – in collaboration with Elevated Chicago and many other partners in Chicago. We produced a series of five webcasted workshops, resulting in five policy briefs that surfaced new ideas around cultural identity, social services, and emerging transportation technology. Jacky Grimshaw continued to provide leadership on the Elevated Chicago steering committee, pushing the City of Chicago to expand TOD development incentives to high frequency bus routes. Based on feedback from these partners, CNT also expanded the data and functionality of the eTOD Social Impact Calculator.

CNT launched a new web tool for our Urban Opportunity Agenda, a set of ten strategies that simultaneously create jobs, lower the cost of living, and help low-income families achieve financial stability while creating more efficient cities. Users may customize strategies such as energy retrofits, transit access to jobs, and others, for up to 122 U.S. cities. In 2020 we intend to work with national partners to apply the web tool to advance their poverty reduction goals.

CNT tackled some tough questions on transportation equity in 2019. Our national research found that communities of color in ten cities have less frequent transit service, longer wait times for rides from Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft, and far fewer bikeshare options and carshare vehicles than white communities. In Chicago, we demonstrated that low income households that give up a car, use transit for work commutes, and take TNCs for other trips like grocery and medical appointments could reduce their transportation costs. CNT’s widely publicized analysis revealed that equity-focused changes to TNC fees in Chicago could help raise money for transit without burdening low income communities of color. This helped inform a Chicago City Council decision and generated national interest in incorporating equity and affordability considerations into TNC policy design.

The State of California is among the nation’s leaders in directly confronting the challenges of housing affordability and climate change. To show how these goals are intertwined, CNT produced planning tools for California’s Planning and Conservation League to inform state policymaking. Our Infill Index scores the performance of places based on household vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and references socioeconomic factors including race and ethnicity to protect vulnerable communities and prevent displacement.

An overview of our finances in 2019 are below. You may also view CNT's 2019 Audit here.

Our accomplishments in 2019 provide us with energy and positive direction moving into 2020. With the challenges that our society and planet face, we are convinced that our work is more important than ever. Our topics of focus – water, climate, community development, and transportation – provide key opportunities to intervene for a more sustainable and equitable future.

And we believe that our unique blend of skillsets is the right approach. In 2020, we will continue to blend rigorous analysis and community engagement to develop innovative solutions to the problems that face us. A few highlights are noted below.

Rigorous analysis of urban problems is a hallmark of CNT’s work. In 2020, we will:

• Demonstrate the link between green stormwater infrastructure and nearby property values.
• Improve methods to evaluate the equity impacts of investments and operational changes in public transit systems.

Authentic engagement of communities positions local leaders as experts, reinforcing CNT’s longtime commitment to asset-based community development. In 2020, we will:

• Involve residents and community leaders in the Calumet area in developing a baseline of where and how frequently urban flooding occurs.
• Launch a new transportation equity network in the Chicago region, with transportation equity advocates in leadership positions and CNT playing a supporting role.

A national reputation for innovation gives CNT the ability to advance its ideas broadly. In 2020, we will:

• Design a program to retrofit housing for climate resilience and sustainability while preserving affordability, including a pilot in Evanston and wider-scale policy guidance.
• Produce and publicize strategy guides on water innovation on three topics: community benefits of green infrastructure; water affordability; and innovative funding and financing for water systems.

And an entrepreneurial spirit means that CNT is more than just a think tank; when conditions are right, we pursue direct program service delivery as well. In 2020, we will:

• Launch a home retrofit program in the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago to build resilience to flooding.
• Oversee the construction of green stormwater infrastructure and local arts installations in several areas across Chicago.

Thanks to all of the funders and supporters who worked with us in 2019! We were generously funded by the following organizations and individuals:

Significant funders, clients, and sponsors

Individual, Family, and Corporate Donors ($1,000+)

CNT is a member of EarthShare and 1% for the Planet.