Committee on the Environment

 View Only

Community HTML

ALBION DISTRICT LIBRARY BY PERKINS + WILL IS A 2018 COTE TOP TEN RECIPIENT. IMAGE: DOUBLESPACE PHOTOGRAPHY

Quick Links

Who we are

The Committee on the Environment (COTE®) is an AIA Knowledge Community working for architects, allied professionals, and the public to achieve climate action and climate justice through design. We believe that design excellence is the foundation of a healthy, sustainable, and equitable future. Our work promotes design strategies that empower all AIA members to realize the best social and environmental outcomes with the clients and the communities they serve.

Enjoy our latest on COTE news (and follow us on X and LinkedIn). 

To learn about the Framework for Design Excellence (formerly the COTE Top Ten Measures), click here.

Check out COTE's history and timeline. 

Starting a local COTE or sustainability group and need some guidance? Check out the AIA COTE Network Resources here.

A big thank you to our 2024 sponsors: 
Founding sponsors: Building Green
Premier sponsors: Sherwin-Williams
Sustaining sponsors: GAF Roofing, Milliken, Andersen Windows,
BlueScope Buildings
Green sponsors: EPIC Metals
Allied sponsors: TLC Engineering, Sierra Pacific Windows

Paratransit - The Trojan Horse in Transit's Stable

  • 1.  Paratransit - The Trojan Horse in Transit's Stable

    Posted 10-20-2016 11:42 AM

    Paratransit - The Trojan Horse in Transit's Stable

    Most think of transit as a bus or train running on a fixed route on a fixed schedule. Service that goes where the request is made and deploys when its made (or a certain time thereafter) is associated with taxis or lately with Uber and Lyft. Mini buses that provide a hybrid service, half bus half taxi, are popular in South America or Turkey ("dolmus") but in the US most know such service only from hotel shuttles or the airport service Super Shuttle.

    Few know that almost all US transit agencies provide such a hybrid demand responsive service every day and on a pretty big scale, although many may have wondered about the growing number of vans and sedans with the transit agencies logo on it. The reason that most don't know about it is that only a few qualify for the service. Para-transit. as this service is called, is mandated by law. It has the noble purpose of providing transit to the mobility impaired. But transit agencies had no practice in providing demand based service before.
    Now agencies face a double challenge:...

    Read full article

    ------------------------------
    Nikolaus Philipsen FAIA
    Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects
    Baltimore MD
    ------------------------------