ASC's Intersections Newsletter — Week of March 8, 2021
Nora's Note
They said it. This week, we look at the seeds of equity planted by women who came before us. Like Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first woman to run for US president, whose “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair,” urges us on. And Kenyan Wangari Maathai, who saw the connection between poverty and the environment and received a Nobel Prize for her Green Belt Movement, said “Women are the first victims of environmental degradation because they are the ones who walk for hours looking for water, who fetch firewood, who provide food for their families." Wrapping the week will be a stay-at-home viewing of “Suffragette,” from director Sarah Gavron who “got into filmmaking to make a difference.” Grab your popcorn and roar!
21 Digital Trends for 2021
Each Tuesday, ASC's digital strategists share the pros, cons and how-tos of using an emerging technology trend to reach wider, more representative audiences right where they are. Check out this week's blog to learn how voice-enabled tech can maximize inclusiveness.
Tie Score! We asked for your top challenge in public engagement equity. Here's what you told us: "Ensuring activity participation reflects the demographics of the whole community" and "Providing virtual presentations and content to non-English speakers." Find solutions in the ASC Virtual Engagement Playbook.
Transportation
How Coronavirus Has Changed New York City Transit. One year later, the pandemic has radically changed how New Yorkers move around the City. While car travel has started to return to pre-pandemic levels, subway ridership is at only one-third of its pre-pandemic levels. Maintaining transit access throughout the pandemic has been critical, with essential workers and passengers from lower-income neighborhoods as two groups with less drastic declines in ridership. Read on to learn more about how the past year might shape the future of New York City transportation.
Freight Waves: Why women are increasingly interested in driving trucks
Mass Transit: Transit authorities to launch major new initiatives in coming years
USA Today: California's Pacific Coast Highway is falling into the ocean
Fast Company: Eco-Friendly Car Owners are Undermining Environmental Gains by Buying Second Vehicles
NPR: Driving Was Down In 2020, But Traffic Fatality Rates Surged
Quartz: Electric cars may soon get a superhighway from Chicago to Orlando
Politico: How Biden is betting on Buttigieg to drive a new era of racial equity
Spectrum News NY 1: East Bronx Set For Cycling Improvements, As DOT Adds New Bike Racks, Lanes
Energy/Environment
Nobody talks about ‘global warming’ anymore. As conversations about the future of our climate become more urgent, the terms used to describe one of today’s most pressing issues are evolving. A new report that analyzed social media posts and news articles throughout the 2010s found that references to “global warming” have fallen by over 70 percent in the past decade. “Climate change” has been the most frequently used term since 2015 and there has been a trend toward more active phrases like “climate crisis” and “climate action.” Read on to learn more about these shifts in language may reflect the public’s changing views on climate.
CNN: Who pays the price for climate crisis? Women.
PV Magazine: New York State adopts rules to streamline large renewable energy project reviews
GreenTech Media: Examining the Limits of ‘Energy Return on Investment’
NY Times: California Condors Get an Assist From an Unlikely Source — A Wind Power Company
Energy News Network: Connecticut solar developers enlist sheep to cut grass and ease tensions
Washington Post: How nature can help solve our infrastructure crisis amid extreme weather, climate change
Quartz: Rooftop solar could kill—or save—the Texas electric grid
Utility Dive: New York Senate advances environmental justice package, including energy efficiency jobs bill
Economic Development
Historical trends suggest upcoming rise in female entrepreneurship. Women’s participation in the labor force reached a 33-year low earlier this year, but a look back at economic downturns of the past suggests big potential for increases in minority and women-owned businesses. After the 2008 financial crisis, minority and women-owned businesses created 1.8 million jobs critical to stabilizing the economy. Small businesses owned by Black women, the fastest-growing demographic of entrepreneurs, rose by 163% between 2007 and 2018. Read on to learn how a similar pattern may emerge during post-pandemic recovery.
The Tennessee Tribune: Women Entrepreneurs are Powering the American Dream
Next City: Newark Hopes a Land Bank Will Help Revitalize its Neighborhoods
Governing: Majority Latino Areas Got Less PPP Money Than White Areas
Mass Transit: ASCE unveils its report card for 2021 on America’s infrastructure
Fast Company: U.S. transit agencies jump into real estate
GeekWire: BIPOC students gain web design skills while building sites for Black-owned businesses
Commercial Property Executive: Redevelopment Eyed for Site Near Javits Center
WSYR: Federal relief coming to counties across New York State
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