Cities21
Cities21 is working for better transit, greater urban livability, and reduced pollution. Some elements we favor: transit villages, real-estate in-fill, workforce housing, automated transit, and wireless connection-making software.
Our capstone research project, the “Suburban Silver Bullet,” demonstrates how these and other concepts can combine to create: no taxpayer cost, less traffic and greenhouse gas, more housing and social vibrancy, greater auto-free mobility, increased public transit revenues, increased office and residential land values, retail sales, and ability to attract employees.
Steve Offutt
EPA Best Workplaces for Commuters - Program Manager and principal architect for Best Workplaces for Commuters in the Office of Transportation and Air Quality at EPA (www.bwc.gov). Mr. Offutt is working with scores of transportation organizations and thousands of companies to reduce the impact of commuting on the environment. Prior to his work in the transportation arena, he spent six years developing and implementing the market-based, non-regulatory Energy Star programs (www.energystar.gov). His areas of expertise include: business/government partnerships, identifying and exploiting opportunities to profitably improve the environment, climate change and energy efficiency. Prior to his current government job, Mr. Offutt was a consultant in the electric utility industry. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a Masters in Music from the University of Cincinnati.
“Our current transportation policy path in the U. S. is clearly unsustainable. Traffic, its environmental impacts and its impact on quality of life continue to get worse virtually everywhere in the country. Innovative new ideas and new approaches are badly needed. We need a portfolio of innovative approaches spread across the United States, with each one pushing the envelope towards a more sustainable future transportation system. Cities21 and its Suburban Silver Bullet should be in this portfolio. It is innovative; it is forward-looking; it addresses many key transportation challenges; and the potential benefits — if widely disseminated — are large.”
— Steve Offutt, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Best Workplaces for Commuters Division
