Corridors of Opportunity Evaluation

Project summary:

The Corridors of Opportunity initiative promotes sustainable, vibrant, and healthy communities in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, using the region's emerging transitway system as a development focus. Funded by a Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Integration Initiative funds from Living Cities (a collaboration of 22 of the nation's largest foundations and financial institutions), the Corridors of Opportunity initiative runs from 2011 to 2013. The HUD-funded projects advance strategies for sustainable development in our region, and the Living Cities projects advance the implementation and construction of sustainable development. The overall Corridors of Opportunity evaluation will address both the systems-change dimensions of the Corridors of Opportunity initiative as well as the tangible impacts on quantitative indicators documenting changes in the region.

The objectives for the projects are to:
—Evaluate the impact of the Corridors of Opportunity initiative;
—Provide data or outcome reporting required by HUD;
—Coordinate data, data collection, measures and indicators of activity related to Corridors of Opportunity and its projects, leveraging other data collection efforts; and
—Provide the Corridors of Opportunity Policy Board ongoing formative evaluation to inform the evolution of the Corridors of Opportunity initiative.