Program Mission
The program will host a maximum of 60 participants over 7 weeks to discuss the complex linkages between transportation, community development and sustainability.   These complexities and their relationship to the goals of the Denver Metro Region are uncovered in the program through a variety of speakers from the development community, public health sector, municipal government, the Regional Transportation District and many more.

The cornerstone of this unique program is that participants will take their new knowledge and put it in action.  Each session will be designed to be very interactive and participants will be asked to follow-up each session with a homework assignment.  In addition, participants will spend a portion of each class designing their individual action plan that they will implement in their community upon completing the Academy.

Desired Outcomes
•Actively educate other citizens about transit and its important linkage to sustainability in the Denver region.
•Actively educate others about transportation infrastructure investment.
•Develop and use active listening skills to bring shared meaning to vocabulary associated with sustainable transportation and community development.
•Actively gather, analyze and summarize relevant data.
•Develop new transportation expertise to enable them to take on expanded leadership roles in the region.

Schedule
The Citizens' Academy will be held on Wednesdays, 6 to 9 pm beginning on September 8 and ending on October 20.

Framework

Session 1: Welcome

Overview Slides
Agenda

Welcome & Transit Alliance Introduction
Kathleen Osher, Transit Alliance (presentation)

RTD & FasTracks Update and Status Report
Pauletta Tonillas, RTD Public Information Officer & Lee Kemp, RTD Board Chair (presentation)

Action Plan Development (worksheet)

Session 2:  MetroQuest Café

Agenda

MetroQuest Exercise (presentation) (polling results) (demographic sorting of results)
Jill Locantore, Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG)

Session 3:  Reshaping the Denver Metro Region

Agenda

Reshaping the Denver Metro Region (presentation)
Peter Park, City & County of Denver

Session 4:  Keeping the Denver Region Competitive

Overview Slides
Agenda

Health & the Built Environment (presentation)
Dr. Eric France, Kaiser Permanente

Regionalism & Economic Growth (presentation)
Simon Montagu, Denver Regional Council of Governments

Session 5:  Land Use and Transportation Planning

Agenda

Denver Union Station Walking Tour

Activity – Planning Principles (presentation)
Jacob Riger, Charlier Associates

Session 6: The Built Environment and Public Health

Agenda

Keeping the Denver Region Competitive (presentation)
Tom Clark, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation

Individual Action Plans (overview of presentation order)

Session 7:  Individual Action Plan Presentations