Gasoline is at the lowest price it’s been in five years, currently hovering around $2.00/gallon. It captures everyone’s attention. And it lowers household costs, but not as much as one might think.  The cost of gas represents only about 25% of the cost of owning a car. The other costs, like insurance and maintenance – not to mention the cost of the car itself – don’t fluctuate when gas prices do. Even a 50% decrease in pump prices only reduces the cost of owning a car by about 12.5%. We... Continue reading »

Flooding is the most expensive "natural" disaster faced by homeowners across America. Flooding costs communities billions of dollars every year according to damage payouts by insurance companies. Much of the damage can be avoided by smarter, greener infrastructure in our built environments. Read stories of real flood victims below: “It's awful to wade through feces in your own home.  My home was essentially destroyed during Hurricane Sandy, just the biggest storm to come surging... Continue reading »

We have some incredible news! Thanks to your efforts, and the leadership of Representative Mike Quigley and Senator Dick Durbin, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been asked to conduct a national study of urban flooding. The Congressional directive is included in an appropriations bill signed by President Obama, and specifically requires FEMA “to evaluate the latest available research, laws, regulations, policies, best practices, procedures, and institutional knowledge... Continue reading »

Many of Chicago’s most desirable neighborhoods are anchored by CTA stations, which has pushed rents sky high. But we need to stop and think – should access to the CTA only be available to those who can afford high rents? Doesn’t it hurt our entire city when resource-strapped households are hit with the double whammy of unaffordable rents and costly auto ownership? We support the proposed Keeping the Promise ordinance, designed to reform the Chicago Housing Authority, because we believe that... Continue reading »

By Richard Beckwith, Intel What is a Smart City? A city that’s smart sounds like a very good thing, much better than the alternative.  But despite the appeal, lots of people just aren’t quite clear what a Smart City actually is.  Simply put, Smart Cities enhance the efficiencies of urban systems with networked technology. Smart meters monitor electricity usage as part of a “smart grid,” which in turn enables better integration of renewable energy sources like solar. Smart... Continue reading »

When Village of Midlothian residents reached out to CNT’s RainReady℠ program, they sought help with Natalie Creek, a small tributary to the Cal Sag Channel with a terrible history of flooding the surrounding neighborhood. As we began our work with Floodlothian Midlothian and Village Trustees, we learned that flooding wasn’t the only challenge facing the community. Like many of its neighbors, Midlothian was hard hit by the 2009 recession and has been challenged to rebuild its economic base and... Continue reading »

We are delighted to announce that the City of Chicago is supporting CNT’s education and outreach on rain readiness. Working alongside urban flooding victims themselves, we help people identify practical and affordable improvements to protect their property from urban flooding - approaches that can be implemented in any neighborhood in America. What’s particularly exciting is that CNT’s unique organizing approach – flood victim action through Resident Action Groups  - has caught the... Continue reading »

Urban flooding can quickly destroy a home or business, and it’s happening across the country more frequently than ever before. It’s often caused by intense rainfall on impervious paved surfaces, though urban flooding can also happen when old, undersized or poorly maintained stormwater infrastructure fails. In either case, urban flooding often occurs in ways and at times you would least expect. That’s what happened one night last year to Pueschel Schneier’s Pensacola, Fla., home when she... Continue reading »

Five miles southwest of Chicago’s Loop sit three nearly vacant buildings that were once part of the Central Manufacturing District (CMD), one of the first industrial parks in the country. In their heyday, these three buildings housed tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs, the sort of well paying, blue collar work that is largely a relic of a bygone era. Each building is about a half million square feet, and a freight rail line runs adjacent to the site (though investment would be needed to... Continue reading »

The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) has been contracted through the City of Chicago’s Residential Flood Assistance Program to provide streamlined flood damage repair and prevention for 70 homes victimized by the April 2013 flooding that crippled parts of Chicago’s south and west sides. Through CNT’s RainReady Home service, each eligible homeowner will receive a free home inspection to identify opportunities for flood repair and prevention. The RainReady Home team will then make... Continue reading »