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2019-09-01
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy;
While momentum in recent decades has elevated bus rapid transit (BRT) as more than an emerging mode in the U.S., this high-capacity, high-quality bus-based mass transit system remains largely unfamiliar to most Americans. In the U.S., lack of clarity and confusion around what constitutes BRT stems both from its relatively low profile (most Americans have never experienced BRT) and its vague and often conflicting sets of definitions across cities, sectors, and levels of government. As a result, many projects that would otherwise be labeled as bus improvements or bus priority under international standards have become branded in American cities as BRT. This leads to misperceptions among U.S. decisionmakers and the public about what to expect from BRT. Since its inception in Curitiba, Brazil, BRT has become a fixture of urban transport systems in more than 70 cities on six continents throughout the globe. Just twelve BRT corridors exist in the United States so far.
This guide offers proven strategies and insights for successfully implementing BRT within the political, regulatory, and social context that is unique to the United States. This guide seeks to illuminate the upward trends and innovations of BRT in U.S. cities. Through three in-depth case studies and other examples, the guide shares the critical lessons learned by several cities that have successfully implemented, or are in the midst of completing, their own BRT corridors. Distinct from previous BRT planning and implementation guides, this is a practical resource to help planners, and policy makers specifically working within the U.S. push beyond the parameters of bus priority and realize the comprehensive benefits of true BRT.
2017-08-09
Woodstock Institute;
This report examines bank lending to businesses in the Detroit and Richmond Regions. The purpose is to determine the extent to which banks are meeting the credit needs of businesses throughout those two regions. The focus of the report is on the smaller value loans under $100,000 that are most likely to support smaller, local businesses that provide employment and wealth-building opportunities for local residents.
2013-11-04
Aspen Institute;
Findings from 10 focus groups with low and moderate income mothers, and teenage boys and girls.
2013-04-01
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation;
Communities across our nation are experimenting with new ways to engage citizens in the decisions made by civic leaders from the public, private and non-pro!t sectors, working sometimes together and sometimes at cross purposes. Ultimately, success at making democracy work and sustaining healthy communities requires engaged individuals, organizations, and institutions.
Across our country, community engagement bright spots are emerging. These initiatives foster a sense of attachment, expand access to information and resources, and create opportunities for citizens to play more active roles in setting priorities, addressing issues, and planning the longer-term sustainability of their communities.
The National League of Cities, working with The John S. and James L Knight Foundation, selected 14 communities that the two institutions are engaged with to explore how well or poorly some of these experiments are faring today. This analysis then focused more closely on four communities -- Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Austin -- to document the lessons learned and the challenges ahead.
2002-08-01
Neighborworks America;
The National Insurance Task Force (NITF) has conducted three, two-day classes of its Certified Insurance Counselor Training Program at Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Training Institutes. These were held August 30-31, 1999; October 16-17, 2000; and October 15-16, 2001. There were 25 participants in each class, yielding a total of 75 certified insurance counselors. These counselors returned to their local nonprofit organizations equipped with a training manual, a PowerPoint presentation, and a new understanding of the insurance industry and of clients' insurance needs.
In early 2002, the NITF education subcommittee decided to commission an analysis that would examine and summarize the impact of its education efforts on community development organizations and the residents they serve. Toward that end, NITF staff and consultants conducted surveys and/or interviews of: 15 randomly selected community development practitioners who completed the training; and37 residents who participated in the NITF Home Safety programs. These survey were given during focus-group sessions in St. Louis (Missouri), Staten Island (New York) and Richmond (Virginia).Copies of these survey forms are contained in this report.
Both the surveys and in-depth interviews with five practitioners assessed the following:The quality of the Certified Insurance Counselor Training Program (CICTP);The value of insurance education;Perceptions of the insurance industry by residents both before and after they received insurance education;The impact of insurance-education programs on individuals and on communities;Information on the kinds of insurance residents wished to know more about; andAny other insights that might prove valuable to NITF in considering the overall effectiveness of its insurance education programs.
