What
is the Transit Alliance Citizens' Academy?
The program will host a maximum of 50 participants over 7 weeks to discuss
the complexities of combining transportation and community development
to support the regional success of Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
in the Metro Denver area.
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 personal action plan that they will implement upon completing the academy.
Why
a Transit Alliance Citizens' Academy?
Metro Denver is emerging as THE learning laboratory for revitalizing our
communities through the development of a multi-modal transportation infrastructure.
NO ONE else in the nation is doing what we are here in Denver. Thanks
to voter support of FasTracks in 2004, we will have more than 90 transit
stations in the metro region in just 10 short years.
Who
Participates?
The Transit Alliance Citizens' Academy is limited to a class of 50 from
the Denver Metropolitan Region. Participants will be selected on the basis
of demonstrated leadership ability and commitment to make future contributions
to transportation and community development, with particular emphasis
on development taking place around transit stations both existing and
future.
Academy
Graduates will:
• Actively educate other citizens about transit oriented development.
• Actively educate other citizens about transportation infrastructure
investment.
• Actively gather, analyze and summarize relevant data.
• Support public and private funding for transit oriented development.
• Develop and use active listening skills to bring shared meaning
to vocabulary associated with TOD, transportation and community development.
When
will the Academy Meet?
The Academy will meet on Wednesday evenings from 6 - 9 p.m. for seven
consecutive weeks. Two classes will be held in 2008; the first will be
from February 6 - March 19 and the second from September 10 - October
22.
Selection
Criteria:
• Participants should live or work in the Denver Metropolitan Region.
• Participants should represent a diversity of interests related
to transportation and community development and have an interest in development
around transit stations
• Demonstrated leadership qualities
• Ability to participate in all sessions
• Employer consent, where appropriate
• Reasonable representation by geography and by cultural diversity.
Funding:
Participants selected for this program will be sponsored by our program
supporters and the Transit Alliance. There will be no cost to participants.
Program supporters include: RTD, Metro Denver EDC, Colorado Association
of REALTORS, and DRCOG. For more information about supporting this unique
program, contact Kathleen
Osher.
Application
Process:
Candidates for the Academy apply using the form available here
and applications for the September 10 - October 22, 2008 class are due
BY AUGUST 15, 2008.