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con·verge \ken-verj\
vb (1691): to come together and unite in a common interest or
focus. [Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition]
Welcome to the CONVERGE Timeline. Whether you're a concerned
citizen, an educator, a practicing professional (or a next-generation
professional in the making), we hope you will find valuable information
on this site that helps enhance your understanding of the relationship
between surface transportation and the environment, and that inspires
you to learn more about - or become more involved in - this fascinating
subject.
For information about the CONVERGE website and related project initiatives, please explore any of the links below.
Project Overview
CONVERGE Timeline is a national, multimedia initiative to chronicle the dynamic, evolving
relationship between surface transportation and the environment
through American history for the purpose of informing and engaging
students, citizens, and professionals. In this project, surface
transportation is defined as all modes of land-based travel, such
as roads and highways, rail, transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities,
and pipelines. The environment relates to both the natural environment
(i.e., protection and enhancement of our natural resources) as
well as the human environment (e.g., improving public health and
the quality of life in our communities).
The CONVERGE website, the first of several resources to be developed
through this project, is designed to meet three objectives. First,
it documents the fascinating history of the transportation/environmental
relationship since the early beginnings of our nation's history.
Until now, no resource has identified the significant milestones
that have influenced and helped to characterize this essential
relationship. It is worth noting that our research has shown that
transportation and the environment have always been interconnected,
and the factors driving decision making about these two public
interests have always been complicated, numerous, and diverse.
The second objective of the website is to show how our understanding
of the past facilitates our ability to more effectively address
present-day issues and challenges as we strive continually to improve
our mobility in a democratic society without degrading the integrity
of our natural resources and the quality of life in our communities.
The CONVERGE website helps to convey an historical context for
current issues as well as identify the relevant print and web resources
available for further study. As a result, visitors to the site
can consider the implications of current events and issues from
a broader perspective.
Finally, the CONVERGE website encourages everyone to become
involved in this important public issue. Successful technological
innovations and public policy developments emerge from the careful
consideration of a broad range of relevant perspectives. Whether
you are a student, concerned citizen, practitioner, or policy maker,
YOUR perspective is important to the process. The CONVERGE web
site is designed to improve access to the information that can
help you participate more effectively in transportation and environmental
planning and project activities.
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Project Catalyst
In January 1996, historian David McCullough provided the keynote
address at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in
Washington, DC. McCullough expressed concern over the fact that "we,
in this country, are raising a new generation of young Americans
who are to a large extent historically illiterate." The value of
history for the transportation professional, according to McCullough,
is that through the benefit of hindsight and understanding the
story of their past, transportation professionals in the post-interstate
era could begin to build for future generations a transportation
infrastructure that not only embodies the ideals of safety and
efficiency, but that also preserves the integrity of the environment.
CTE considered how it could respond to McCullough's challenge
by helping to improve the historical literacy of the transportation
and environmental profession, and the idea for the CONVERGE project
was born. Since then CTE has met with numerous representatives
from government agencies, non-government organizations, universities,
and private industry to learn more about their perspectives on
the transportation and environmental relationship, and to use their
hard-earned experience to help refine the concept for the CONVERGE
project. These individuals have expressed unequivocal support for
the project, and many of their ideas and efforts are featured in
the website.
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Future Initiatives
The CONVERGE website is the first of several resources to be
produced through the CONVERGE national, multimedia initiative.
Pending additional funding, CTE will lead the development of future
project deliverables, including a public television documentary,
CD-ROM and companion book, and educational materials for grades
K-12. (Keep visiting the site for more information about this project's
development.) In the meantime, CTE will continue to work with FHWA,
EPA, and other project partners to further build out the CONVERGE
website.
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