Alex Karner and Prof. Debbe Niemeier publish article providing a critical review of regional transportation plans 

Alex Karner, postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Regional Change, and UC Davis Dept. of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science Prof. Debbie Niemeier recently published an article in the Journal of Transport Geography entitled "Civil rights guidance and equity analysis methods for regional transportation plans: A critical review of literature and practice." The article details shortcomings with existing approaches to analyzing equity at regional transportation planning agencies and proposes substantive changes which, if adopted, would substantially improve practice. 

To read the full journal article, click here.

Leap Forward project call for proposals for out-of-the-box ideas

Lead by a diverse group of progressive organizations from across California, the Leap Forward Project is a new effort to facilitate a collaborative, "think big," discussion about the State of California's future. CRC faculty affiliate and associate professor and chair of the UCD Community and Regional Development Graduate Group, Chris Benner, is one of the lead organizers and  member of the Leap Forward executive committee. The CRC is one of several institutional sponsors. In early 2014, the initiative will bring together a range of innovative policy experts, economic analysts, community and labor organizations and legislative aides to engage in out-of-the-box thinking to realize the remarkable possibility of our new economy, new electorate and new politics--focusing on the state, but hopefully also as an inspiration to work elsewhere.  As part of the process, Leap Forward is crowd-sourcing ideas for forward-looking, ambitious, bottom-up/middle out 'leap forward ideas' that will tackle extreme inequality and drive enduring prosperity. 

Individuals who submit ideas that are selected for discussion at the convening will each receive $1,000 and have the combined intellectual and organizational resources of the project's executive committee devoted to further developing their idea and discussion at the convening.   Deadline is January 3rd, 2014, but ideas submitted before then will help seed the thinking.

For a detailed description of the call for proposals, and submission form), click here.

Drift catchers use citizen science to fight pesticide pollution

When Laura Krouse heard the roar of a crop duster as it flew low, ducking under utility wires to lay down a blanket of herbicides, she sprang into action. Working deftly, she set up a small air vacuum resembling a clothes hanging rod close to her field of vegetables, corn, and hay, not far from where the plane was spraying the neighbor's 10,000-acre farm. There, it would inhale samples of the air to later be tested to see if the chemicals were drifting onto her land. Krouse, who for 25 years has run the 72-acre Abbe Hills Farm in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, is a drift catcher, a toughened breed of farmers who are taking matters concerning the threats of agricultural chemicals into their own hands. She is among 20 Iowa farmers who last winter trained with the California-based Pesticide Action Network (PAN) to use the air monitoring technology PAN specifically designed for laymen. Back home, the farmers took air samples during spraying times throughout this past season.

To read the full article by Lori Rotenberk posted on Grist.org, click here.