Inclusive Active Living Program

This inclusive active living / TDM program from Chicago helps residents walk, bike, ride transit, and use bike share more. It also promotes driving alone less often.

Chicago’s Go Program is an Individualized Marketing program that helps residents walk, bike, ride transit, and bike share more, It also promotes driving alone less often. Compared with past Individualized Marketing efforts in other cities, the Go Programs have pushed the envelope of inclusive, accessible programming. The very high participation rates and positive post-program stakeholder input show that this effort paid off. The Program is a model for communities looking to integrate equity and diversity in their Transportation Demand Management programs.

The Go Program was developed by the City of Chicago’s Department of Transportation (CDOT.) Key collaborators include Alta Planning + Design, the Active Transportation Alliance, and local community organizations. CDOT specifically chose target areas that had been historically underserved. Five neighborhoods that span a diverse cross-section of Chicago’s population benefitted from the program over a four-year time frame. Participating neighborhoods included: Bronzeville, Pilsen, Edgewater, Albany Park, and Garfield Park.

A key to the success of the Go Campaign was hiring local Ambassadors from within each community. Their existing, authentic community relationships helped build trust between the program and residents. Stakeholders respected them and were enthusiastic about learning from them through participation in the program.

The key motivators (reasons for participating) varied by community. The top three were: to explore the neighborhood, to obtain transportation information, and to gain personal health benefits. Other motivators included meeting neighbors and reducing pollution.

On average, 65% of post-program survey respondents reported increased walking, biking, or transit usage because of the program. The program’s behavior-changing results led the City of Chicago to expand it to additional neighborhoods. 

Access the full case study, titled “Chicago’s GO Program” on the Tools of Change website, at www.toolsofchange.com/en/case-studies/detail/710.

Chicago, USA

Accessible, Active Living, Bicycling, Bike, Bike Share, Diversity, Driving Alone, Equity, Inclusive, Individualized Marketing, Public Transit, TDM, Transportation Demand Management, Walking