Vision & Mission | Background | ICIS People | Director's Message | ICIS - Publications & Activities
The Institute
|
CHICAGO GREEN LINE CASE: a community connects to its infrastructure |
posted: |
|
August 19, 2001 Roy Sparrow and Nate Gilbertson In late 1991, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) faced a substantial budget shortfall for the coming year and needed to find a way to cut expenses. Since many of the elevated lines (El) were old and in dire need of repair, CTA officials focused on service cuts on lines with lower ridership, a disinvestment strategy that would allow the CTA to focus resources on other El lines and bus operations. Not surprisingly, this strategy met strong opposition from communities targeted for cuts. These communities and several advocacy groups joined forces in a coalition to mount public pressure on the CTA and other Chicago-area transportation decision-makers. This coalition waged a 16-month campaign to save the El and, ultimately, reversed a decision that had failed to consider community interests. This campaign was the driving force behind the CTA's change of plans and its decision to reinvest in the threatened El lines instead of closing them. Over the course of two and a half years, the CTA spent over $300 million to rehabilitate these lines, now known as the "Green Line." The coalition succeeded in large part because of the efforts of two unusual nonprofit organizations that contributed critical knowledge and skills to increase the effectiveness and impact of the community groups. The Neighborhood Capital Budget Group (NCBG) and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) have separate and distinctive missions, but share a common goal of using capital investment as a basis for economic and social development of deteriorated urban neighborhoods. The NCBG used the momentum of the successful campaign to save the Green Line to expand the coalition and strengthen its mission of assuring the quality of life in neighborhoods by improving the vital infrastructure that connects communities to the urban region. Chicago Green Line Case Final.doc 
|
|
|
|
