Table of Contents

• First Off . . .
• Events
• News and Other Announcements
• CMAP Blogs
• Reminders

First Off...

MetroPulse launch.  The Regional Indicators Project's new MetroPulse web system has been launched at www.metropulsechicago.org. Created in partnership by CMAP and The Chicago Community Trust, MetroPulse gives the public a simple but powerful interface to access a vast warehouse of data on quality-of-life factors in the seven-county region. MetroPulse represents a major implementation step of the new GO TO 2040 comprehensive regional plan.  Read more in a press release and view an archived webinar demonstration.  We strongly encourage our partners to make use of this extensive new data resource.

GO TO 2040 implementation.  GO TO 2040 recommends making technical assistance for planning available to communities across the region, and CMAP is now planning to do just that.  Buoyed by the recent Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grant, CMAP will begin offering a range of technical assistance to communities in early 2011.  More details will be released next month, but please see this short description of what is being planned – and start to put together your ideas about how CMAP can help to implement GO TO 2040 in your community.

Events

GO TO 2040 on CAN-TV.  Starting November 21, CAN-TV will air footage from the entire GO TO 2040 launch event.  Cable subscribers in the City of Chicago can see it on Channel 21 on November 21 at 9:00 a.m. and November 24 at 8:00 a.m., and on Channel 19 on December 2 at 12:00 p.m.  Next week we'll make a web version available for everyone to view. 

CREOP presentation.  CMAP's Freight Committee will host a presentation of the Chicago Rail Economic Opportunities Plan (CREOP) at its next meeting at 10:00 a.m. on December 1.  CREOP is an intensive, multiparty effort to preserve and establish rail-related land use in industrial areas.  RSVP to Yesenia Ambriz (312-454-0400 or email yambriz@cmap.illinois.gov). 

Loan modification program workshop.  On December 4, learn how to Keep Your Home by applying for the new federal Loan Modification Program.  Free on-site assistance will be offered from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Thornton Fractional South High School.  For more, contact Laurentino Ramirez at 773-933-7575. 

Economic Summit.  On December 8, the Brookings Institution, London School of Economics, and Alfred Herrhausen Society will host Global Metro Summit:  Delivering the Next Economy on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus.  The daylong program is designed to "articulate a vision for a post-recession economy that is export-oriented, low carbon, innovation-fueled, opportunity rich, and ultimately led by metropolitan areas."  View the agenda and register online. 

ArcView workshops in 2011.  CMAP periodically offers a Two-Day Basic ArcView 10 Workshop, and 2011 dates have been set through June:  March 16 to 17, May 25 to 26, and June 15 to 16.  Attendance at each workshop is limited to five people, so register early.  With enough demand, more workshops will be scheduled in the first half of the new year.  The cost is $350.  To register, please contact Jan Drennan (312-386-8686 or jdrennan@cmap.illinois.gov) or David Clark (312-386-8682 or dcclark@cmap.illinois.gov). 

News and Other Announcements

More on MetroPulse.  Read about the MetroPulse launch at Medill News Service, Gapers Block, and Chicagoist.

New tool for economic innovation.  The U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Entrepreneurial Development and Microsoft created a free Business Technology Simplified Guidebook for business owners to learn how technology can drive their success.

CMAP Blogs

Green Signals.  This week, CMAP’s transportation operations blog informed readers about the Cross-Town Improvement Project Webinar. The webinar discussed the collaborative project involving the government and private industry in Kansas City, MO to move freight more efficiently.  The blog also highlighted the Advancing Metropolitan Planning for Operations: The Building Blocks of a Model Transportation Plan Incorporating Operations –  A Desk Reference.  This guide was designed to assist transportation professionals to incorporate operations related objectives, performance measures, and strategies into a regional transportation plan.

Soles and Spokes. This week, CMAP’s bike-ped planning blog highlighted results from a nationwide survey about factors that may encourage more women to bicycle for transportation. We also linked to a new safety video by the City of Chicago on the need for cyclists to use a headlamp and rear red "blinkie" light at night. Finally, we alerted readers to a new report from AASHTO/NCHRP/FHWA documenting effective policies and implementation programs to enhance pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility.

Reminders

WTTW on biking.  On November 29 at 7:30 p.m., WTTW will premiere Biking the Boulevards, a new program hosted by Geoffrey Baer.   

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