May 15, 2017 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #TimeToBuild, #InfrastructureWeek, #TLC, #Metropolitan Council, #transit, #Brookings, #RooseveltInstitute, #InThePublicInterest, #CenterforAmericanProgress

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Infrastructure Week: #TimeToThink

Infrastructure is key to the national economy and to the economic opportunity that every Amercian faces. Safe water. Affordable energy. Mobility and accessibility. We have artificially made infrastructure investment a zero-sum game by letting the “no tax” voices win. Infrastructure is the ultimate public good. Public investment in all forms of infrastructure costs the individual user less than paying for it through user feeds, or perhaps not even getting the service if it’s too cost prohibitive for the private sector. Yes, it’s time to build, but even more importantly, it’s time to think.

March 16, 2017 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #infrastructure, #LentenAppeal, #PopeFrancis, #Trump infrastructure, #transit, #CDBG, #Trump budget, #FY2018 budget, #HUD, #USDOT, #Brookings

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In Response to Trump Budget, A Lenten Appeal for America's Communities

It’s that time of year again. For Catholics, March is Lent, a time of commitment to sacrifice and good deeds. It’s also when we get the annual Lenten Appeal request to tithe in support of the Church’s ability to serve as God’s emissary on earth and help those most in need. In Washington DC, March is budget season. The time of year when the Administration unveils its spending priorities for the coming year and when Congress demonstrates where it will invest the trillions of dollars provided by American taxpayers. This year, the disconnect between God’s priorities and Republican priorities could not be more clear, unless we focus only on the word sacrifice.

October 10, 2016 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #transit, #transit oriented development, #equitableTOD, #equitable development, #FTA, #jointdevelopment, #FordFoundation, #MileHighConnects, #LISC, #Enterprise Community Partners, #CCFC, #LAMetro

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New Publication by MZ Strategies, LLC: Advancing Equitable Transit-Oriented Development through Community Partnerships and Public Sector Leadership

Over the past four years, MZ Strategies has worked with numerous communities to advance equitable development strategies ranging from specific policy initiatives and funding programs, to strengthening multi-sector coalitions, and updating regulatory approaches. Today, we are excited to release a new publication, "Advancing Equitable Transit-Oriented Development through Community Partnerships and Public Sector Leadership." The new report spotlights strategies being used in four regions to create more inclusive communities near transit, and discusses federal tools available to support development of transit real estate assets for affordable housing.

February 26, 2016 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #FTA, #T4America, #CFTE, #virginia tech, #Buehler, #transit, #transit finance

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We Get What We Ask For: Why America’s Transit Experience Lags Behind

A recent study published by the Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center (co-authored by Ralph Buehler, Kyle Lukacs and Mariia Zimmerman) compares two major transit regions in the US with several European counterparts. The authors found that money -- both the lack of it and the strings attached to it -- is a key reason as to why transit in the United States isn’t better.

October 23, 2015 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #transportation, #STRRAct, #USDOT, #transit, #transportationsafety, #APTA, #streamlining, #uscm, #nrdc

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STiRRing things up in transportation … for the worse

My take on the House of Representatives transportation authorization bill: The Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act (STRR) is not good for the environment, does not genuinely address safety and maintenance needs, is not good for social equity, does not adequately fund our transportation system and is not great for the economy. I’ll just say it …. I’d rather have yet another continuing resolution of the current bill than go down the STRR path for the next 6 years. America needs and deserves better. Congress needs to keep stirring until they get it right.

March 09, 2015 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #FTA, #transit, #USDOT, #new starts, #affordable housinig, #equitableTOD

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Transit as an Affordable Housing Tool? The Feds Think So!

Transit can be a powerful catalyst. Transit advocates like to argue about the positive economic development impacts that a new rail line can have on adjacent property. Community advocates argue against transit as a gentrification tool. In reality, both may be right and the latest "Annual New Starts Recommendations" issued in February by the Federal Transit Administration at USDOT asks communities wanting federal funding for their transit project to consider these trade-offs. Public funds are simply too scarce to not ensure that we are getting multiple benefits and maximum efficiency from every dollar invested. The latest MZ Strategies policy brief, Creating and Preserving Affordable Housing Through the Federal Transit Capital Investment Program, offers examples of how some communities are threading this needle.

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July 23, 2014 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #urban planning, transporation planning, #transit finance, #transit, #bike ped, #new mobility, vienna, berlin, #ralph buehler, #virginia tech

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Vienna and Berlin: Transportation Inspiration from Abroad

I just returned from 2 weeks in Europe, which always provides lots of inspiration to me as an urban planner, yet this time I noticed that in many ways great US and European cities are having more in common. Bike sharing, cycle tracks, streetcars and mobiles apps are spreading in both continents, to name just a few of the visible ways that mobility is being expanded – creating a new sense of urban vibrancy and excitement. Berlin and Vienna offer great examples of how transportation is creating vibrant urban centers and new mobility.

May 14, 2014 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #Center for Transportation Studies, #University of Minnesota, #transit

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Transforming Communities with Transit

Mariia Zimmerman, Principal of MZ Strategies, LLC joins regional leaders from across the greater Minneapolis-St.Paul region on May 22 at the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies annual research conference to discuss the impacts of recent transit investments. Zimmerman will facilitate a policy session focused on the role transit plays on regional job accessibility, economic development and real estate, and the funding and social equity implications of accelerating transit investment to serve more suburban and urban communities.

More information on the session, including details on registration are available through this link.

This session builds upon the findings from the Transitway Impact Research Program (TIRP), a multi-year, cross disciplinary effort to explore the impacts of transitways on regional land use, travel patterns and economy. TIRP was launched in 2006 by the Hennepin–University Partnership and has grown to include a mix of state, regional, and local jurisdictional partners Last fall, MZ Strategies authored a 24-page research summary that highlights key findings from the past 8 year's of TIRP research.

January 10, 2014 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #War on Poverty, #HUD, #USDOT, #FTA, #income inequality, #community development, #Fair Housing, #transit, #urban planning, #poverty

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Looking Back and Looking Ahead on 50th Anniversary of the War on Poverty

In reflecting on notable achievements from 2013, I am struck by three separate federal actions that received little fanfare but are important to the War on Poverty’s arsenal. Each respond to one of the most profound lessons we have learned over the past 50 years -- the causes of poverty are often inter-related and cannot be successfully addressed by only focusing on housing, or education, or employment. Rather, integrated approaches are needed.

October 28, 2013 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #transit, #TOD, #equitable development, #Enterprise Community Partners, #University of Minnesota, #MPO, #transportation, #urban planning

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New Reports Developed by MZ Strategies, LLC Spotlight Transit as a Community Building Tool

Last week at the Rail~Volution conference in Seattle, two new reports developed by MZ Strategies, LLC were released that provide useful data, analysis and policy recommendations for transit investments that promote broader economic competitiveness, community revitalization, and increased access to regional housing, employment and life opportunities.

October 18, 2013 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #transit, #transit oriented development, #MPO, #MZStrategies, #Railvolution, #performance metrics

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MZ Strategies Joins the Rail~Volution

Rail~Volution is this country’s premier conference on “building livable communities with transit” and it's hosted this year by Seattle from Oct. 20-23. Mariia Zimmerman, Principal of MZ Strategies will be at the conference and is moderating two sessions and presenting findings from several new reports prepared by MZ Strategies for the University of Minnesota, Enterprise Community Partners, and the Metropolitan Council.

September 23, 2013 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #MPO, #transportation, #transit, #transit finance, #bike ped, #CMAQ, #highways

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How Metros Invest Transportation Funds: MZ Strategies Report on Regional Allocation Process

MZ Strategies, LLC released a new report examining how Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) allocate federal transportation formula funds. The report, “Regional Allocation of Federal Transportation Funding,” looks at the decision making process of six MPOs: Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Phoenix, Portland -- highlighting practices used by each to meet local and regional transportation priorities.