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This report from the  NADO Research Foundation, written with the support of the Delta Regional Authority (DRA), explores how the 23 southernmost counties in Illinois collaborated to increase broadband Internet access to support economic development.

At the start of 2006, the broadband take rate for Southern Illinois – the number of households with access to broadband that buy it – was only 12 percent. Today, thanks in large part to the work of Connect SI (a not-for-profit charitable organization that supports a collaborative, regional economic strategy for the southern 20 counties of Illinois), broadband availability is much greater and the take rate is more than 54 percent.  The take rate for rural communities nationally is 66 percent.  Other economic development projects – in particular, the expansion of online health care education and services – have followed.

To meet its goals, Connect SI has embarked on community initiatives in broadband connectivity, health care, youth leadership, agriculture, and energy.  And it is providing the four regional planning and development commissions in its area with online tools to access and sort economic and demographic data.

Click here to download the report (PDF)

Who should attend: Government officials, planners, developers, investors, nonprofits, and others interested in transit-oriented development.

• Read about the city of Moline’s efforts to transform an old warehouse into the Moline Multimodal Station and the city of Cincinnati’s Streetcar Project in the 2012 Partnership for Sustainable Communities accomplishments report.
• View a video about sustainability efforts in Moline at http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/studies.html#FC9.
• Learn more about the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

Webinar Details

Thursday, November 15, 2012, 1:00 to 2:15 Eastern

• To join this webinar, click on https://epa.connectsolutions.com/epasmartgrowth. Log in as a guest. No pre-registration is required.
• Audio will be available through a conference service. Call 1-888-850-4523. Participant passcode: 719661. This conference has a maximum audio capacity of 299 callers. Please share phone lines if possible.
• Please test your computer prior to attending the meeting at http://admin.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm
  • The Connection Test checks your computer to make sure all system requirements are met. If you pass the first three steps of the test, then you are ready to participate in a meeting.
  • If you do not pass the test, perform the suggested actions and run the test again.

View the report here.

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