Like many regions across the country, Ohio’s Toledo-Lucas County grew up around manufacturing. The economic shifts of the past few decades have hit the region hard, and the county has taken an integrated approach to make the region more economically and environmentally sustainable. The Toledo-Lucas County Sustainability Commission, along with CNT and other project partners like the Brendle Group, created the Going Beyond Green plan as a roadmap to meeting its... Continue reading »

The State of California will devote billions of dollars in new cap-and-trade revenue to fund projects intended to further curb climate impacts. In addition to investments in high-speed rail and public transit, millions of dollars will support affordable transit-oriented development (TOD). CNT research helped make the case that building affordable housing near transit can significantly reduce GHG from auto emissions. Home to the 12th-highest carbon emissions in the world, the State of... Continue reading »

Why do our cities and towns flood? Is it too much asphalt, concrete, glass, and steel? Our giant lawns? And what can Illinois communities do to alleviate urban flooding and prevent future losses for their residents? Some answers may be forthcoming, thanks to the Urban Flooding Awareness Act (SB 2966), sponsored by Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), and passed by the Illinois General Assembly on May 28. The Urban Flooding Awareness Act aligns several... Continue reading »

CNT’s ideas have been implemented, replicated, and shared across the country, from DC to Portland, Arkansas to Cleveland. Now, our thinking has gone global. We recently had the privilege of sharing our work with Nasrullah Thahim, founder and Executive Director of the Sustainable Environment and Development Foundation (SEDF) in Pakistan’s Sindh province.   While in the United States, Nasrullah learned firsthand about the approach to sustainable economic development that CNT articulated... Continue reading »

Northern Ohio has enough wind, solar and biogas potential to meet all of its electricity needs, but only a small fraction of the region's energy comes from these sources. CNT contributed to a report by Oberlin College that lays the analytical roadmap for a healthy, efficient, and sustainable energy economy in the city of Oberlin and throughout Northern Ohio.  CNT helped develop a sustainable transportation plan to reduce carbon emissions in the city of Oberlin over the next 40 years.... Continue reading »