Regional Plan Association works toward a better future for the tri-state region
Congestion Pricingshutterstock 138864413

RPA Lab

Transit is Key to Strong Post-COVID Recovery
MTA Bridge and Tunnel crossings are at 115.8% of pre-pandemic levels while New York City Transit use is at 50.4%. This transition toward a more car-dependent region puts a ceiling on job growth and creates more pollution and traffic deaths.
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Recent News

Politico New York

‘Out of sight’: New York, New Jersey must look underground to prepare for climate change

CT Examiner

RPA Report Pitches ADUs as a Big Answer to Affordable Housing

Crain's New York Business

What New York’s next mayor needs to do about climate change

The New York Times

How Can New York City Prepare for the Next Ida? Here’s a To-Do List.

Connecticut Public Radio

Fairfield County Housing Advocates Want State To Address Shortage For Low-Income Earners

Bloomberg CityLab

Why New York’s Subway Keeps Flooding

Politico NJ

Murphy, after viewing storm damage, says N.J. needs new playbook for extreme weather

Slate

What New York City Can Do Right Now to Prepare for the Next Biblical Rainstorm

Gotham Gazette

Initiative Offers Blueprint for Inclusive New York City Recovery and Growth

Time Out NY

Alfresco NYC announces prizes for the city’s best outdoor dining setups

The New York Times

A Rebirth in the Bronx: Is This How to Save Public Housing?

New York Daily News

Put people over cars on our streets

New York Post

De Blasio’s Soho rezoning plan doesn’t address the ​‘real issues,’ pols say

The New York Times

New York Loves Outdoor Dining. Here’s How to Keep the Romance Alive.

The New York Times

Is This Railroad for the Rich?

Our Region

RPA operates in the interconnected 31-county New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan region.

Map of the Region RPA works in

Region at a Glance

3

States

31

Counties

782

Municipalities

23 million

Residents

13 thousand

Square Miles

read about our region

Our Areas of Expertise

  • Energy & Environment

    Energy & Environment

    RPA’s Energy & Environment program helps the region to rise to the challenge of climate change through proactive regional planning, smart policy development, and advocacy for sustainable land use practices.

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  • Housing & Neighborhood Planning

    Housing & Neighborhood Planning

    RPA’s Housing & Neighborhood Planning program explores how to make the region affordable for everyone and builds collaborative local plans focused on healthy, inclusive, and well-designed communities.

    learn more
  • Transportation

    Transportation

    RPA’s Transportation program helps shape and strengthen the network of railways, roads, airports and ports that binds the region together and connect us to the rest of the world.

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  • Governance

    Governance

    RPA works to fix the institutions that are failing us by assisting and reforming the governments and agencies responsible for investments and policies that cut across the region’s three states and 782 municipalities.

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Ongoing Campaigns

Ensuring an Equitable COVID-19 Recovery

The New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan region was the epicenter of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and RPA is working to ensure it becomes the epicenter of recovery.

Saving Public Transit & Advancing Transit Equity

Public transit is the lifeblood of the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan region but our transit system is facing an existential crisis. RPA is asking all levels of government to step up and save transit.

Building a Decarbonized Economy

RPA is advocating for policies and investments that can help our region hit ambitious climate targets without triggering other crises of equity, affordability or economic decline.

Reducing Segregation & Inequality

Our region is one of the most segregated parts of the United States and has some of the highest levels of income inequality. RPA analyzes the scope of these structural inequities and works with partners to address them.

Designing Streets for Recovery & Equity

RPA has long advocated for prioritizing people over cars. Amid the pandemic, we are building momentum for large-scale, permanent changes to promote transit, biking, cycling, and walking on streets.

Restoring the Promise of Public Housing

RPA is proposing strategies to increase funding and improve management for NYCHA, and we’re building the political and civic will necessary to implement them.
ADU Houses Grid Pattern

Event Highlight

Be My Neighbor

This panel will explore how New York can follow Connecticut by legalizing accessory dwelling units statewide within the next year.

Speakers

Sara Bronin
Thomas F. Gallivan Chair in Real Property Law & Faculty Director, Center for Energy & Environmental Law at UConn
Sen. Pete Harckham
New York State Senator (D-40)
Robert Liberty
Chair, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Commission
Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey
Connecticut State Representative, Fairfield
Marcel Negret
Senior Planner, Regional Plan Association
Christie Stewart
Director, Fairfield County's Center for Housing Opportunity
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Recent Reports

Aug 2021
in Housing & Neighborhood Planning
Be My Neighbor in Fairfield County Untapped Housing Solutions: ADUs and Conversions
Aug 2021
in Housing & Neighborhood Planning
Inclusive Growth Blueprint A Model for Equitable Development in New York City
Jul 2021
in Housing & Neighborhood Planning
My East Camden Neighborhood Plan
Mar 2021
in Housing & Neighborhood Planning
New York Metro Area Issues Survey
2020 US Census NYC Growth

RPA Lab

2020 US Census Shows New York City & Region Grew Beyond Projections
Preliminary 2020 US Census data shows New York City and the surrounding region have grown beyond the Census Bureau’s projections.
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Flushing Queens Flooding Stock Photo Wikimedia Commons 3

RPA Lab

Measuring Flood Risk in New York City Housing and Basements
Approximately 180,000 small residential buildings in New York City remain vulnerable to high-intensity rainfall flooding.
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The Latest

Sep 2021
in Testimony
Testimony at New Jersey Congestion Pricing Public Hearing
Sep 2021
in Testimony
Testimony at New York Congestion Pricing Public Hearing
Sep 2021
in RPA Lab
Measuring Flood Risk in New York City Housing and Basements
Sep 2021
in Testimony
Comments to Federal Housing Finance Agency on Increasing Housing Supply with Accessory Dwelling Units

If we agree that investment in infrastructure is essential, then housing — the hub of the wheel that keeps our country moving forward — cannot be left to rust.”

Wright Tom 3 cropped

Tom Wright

President & CEO

read Tom's op-ed in The Hill view full bio
Fourth regional plan cover
The Fourth Plan seeks to address issues including housing affordability, overburdened transportation infrastructure, and vulnerability to climate change — by addressing the underlying shortcomings in the region’s governance structures.
find out more
Public Service in Older Cities 1969 Paterson NJ

From the Report Library

Public Services in Older Cities

1969
Investment in public services devoted to improving conditions for lower-income people should be more than doubled in order to break the cycle of poverty, RPA wrote in this report of the Second Regional Plan. This report proposed a fiscal strategy by which the nation could meet its responsibilities to lower-income citizens.
read the report

Total Reports

401

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