In the weeks since Mayor Lightfoot proposed changes to the tax structure for ride hailing trips, much of the discussion around the changes has centered whether they are equitable. The transportation network companies (TNCs), as well as community leaders and residents have raised concerns that increasing fees will make using ride hailing unaffordable in Black and Brown neighborhoods on South and West Sides, where incomes are lower, car ownership less common, and these services have the potential... Read the rest of this entry »

As summers grow hotter and rainstorms increase in frequency and severity, it’s more important than ever to promote and invest in solutions that improve local climate resilience. However, governmental solutions often value pipes over natural permeability and engineering over community engagement. And, where nature-based stormwater solutions are installed, many residents are at risk of displacement due to increasing property values. While there’s no quick fix to this challenge, CNT, through... Read the rest of this entry »

Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) are increasingly significant contributors to the transportation system in Chicago. A recent study commissioned by Uber and Lyft estimated that Uber and Lyft rides represent 3.3% of VMT in Cook County. That figure is likely significantly higher in the city of Chicago, and particularly in some of the city’s most dense and congested neighborhoods. The city’s TNC dataset shows that different parts of the city are using TNCs differently, and these differences... Read the rest of this entry »

The City of Chicago recently released a new proposal to restructure the fees the city charges for rides people hail with transportation network companies like Uber, Lyft and Via. Currently, the City of Chicago charges a flat, per-trip fee for all TNC rides, regardless of whether the trip is a shared or solo ride, and regardless of where and when the trip occurs. The new proposal increases fees on solo rides, particularly those that begin and end downtown during times of peak congestion. Shared... Read the rest of this entry »

This July, Elevated Chicago celebrated its second birthday with an event hosted by the Foundation for Homan Square on the top floor of Nichols Tower. Elevated Chicago was initially organized in response to the Strong, Prosperous, And Resilient Communities Challenge (SPARCC), and it uses collaborative, community-led solutions to fight neighborhood displacement and inequities around seven CTA stations. CNT has been part of this collaboration since its birth in 2017. Elevated applies... Read the rest of this entry »

New technologies are changing how people get around. In cities around the world, cars, bikes, scooters, and even pogo sticks can be only a few taps on a smartphone screen away.  Of all these modes, Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Uber, Lyft, and Via are the most prominent. Here in Chicago, the number of active TNC drivers has grown from 15,000 in March 2015 to nearly 68,000 in 2019. In March 2019, over 10 million TNC trips took place in Chicago, with pickups and drop-offs in... Read the rest of this entry »

Since its inception, CNT has pioneered sustainable, equitable, and growth-oriented solutions that reimagine how cities think about transportation and land use. One area of work is equitable transit-oriented development (eTOD), which helps underserved communities tackle affordability, meet transportation needs, and decrease climate change impacts. In light of increased community interest in walkable, connected environments, CNT recently hosted a series of workshops addressing pertinent eTOD... Read the rest of this entry »

The transportation sector is changing rapidly: growth in rideshare services (e.g. Uber, Lyft, and bikeshare), vehicle electrification, and introduction of autonomous vehicles will together lead to a complete re-imagining of our transportation system. New mobility options create new opportunities, but also the potential to widen disparities by income and race – unless we explicitly plan for equity. For that reason, the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) participated on Chicago’s New... Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, I had a chance to introduce the Center for Neighborhood Technology to two new groups of potential friends and partners. First, we were visited by a group of Google product managers from across the nation. Many of CNT’s online interactive tools are based on Google Maps, and our conversation quickly focused on how we use these tools to identify and address urban issues. We had innumerable questions for each other: how can we partner to better calculate local transportation-related... Read the rest of this entry »

On January 23, 2019, the Chicago City Council passed an amendment to the Municipal Code governing transit-oriented developments (TODs). This amendment modifies transit-served locations to include projects in vicinity of more than 20 CTA-designated high-ridership and high-frequency bus routes along eight1 major corridors and corridor segments. With this amendment, the City administration will also have to create and publish an Equitable TOD (ETOD) Implementation Policy Plan over the next year... Read the rest of this entry »