In 2017, RPA offered a vision for Bridgeport, Connecticut as a green and healthy regional center in our Fourth Regional Plan. The City’s Office of Planning and Economic Development picked this up and ran with it. Going out into the community, Planning Director Lynn Haig and her team developed Plan Bridgeport, a 10-year Comprehensive Plan formally adopted by the City earlier this year. Many of Plan Bridgeport’s guiding principles echo the values of the Fourth Plan.

RPA’s Connecticut Director, Melissa Kaplan-Macey, has been collaborating with Lynn over the past several years to highlight the opportunity for Bridgeport to embrace its potential as a Flagship Place in the region. Last month, the two planners sat down in our office for a candid conversation on the community engagement process that led to Plan Bridgeport, the City’s response to the Fourth Plan, and what’s next for Bridgeport.