During Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month this year, Regional Plan Association (RPA) would like to recognize the impacts made on our region and organization by AAPI staff members and Board members.
The history of AAPI individuals at RPA starts around the time of the Second Regional Plan. There appears to be no record of AAPI staff or Board members during the production of the first Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs in the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, due to racist and xenophobic federal immigration laws, AAPI residents made up less than 0.2% of the population of New York City.
This shifted by the 1960s. The AAPI population doubled to around 0.5% and changes in immigration laws enabled more AAPI individuals from overseas to move to the New York metropolitan area. Among the first AAPI contributors to RPA were Yvonne Wong, a staff librarian in the late 1950s, and Kyung Lee Kim, who was hired as a temporary statistical clerk in 1961.
One of the most influential AAPI individuals that collaborated with RPA in the 1960s was Rai Okamoto, an urban design consultant from Philadelphia who directed Urban Design Manhattan. Working alongside RPA staff, Rai demonstrated how urban design principles could be applied to central business districts such as midtown Manhattan. As summarized in the report, “This urban design study not only exposes the problem but presents a powerful visual statement of what urban centers can be, always with ultimate concern that human needs and human scale prevail over the forces that are shaping urban centers today.”
![Rai Okamoto](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/Rai-Okamoto.jpg?bossToken=a22e7c4f639d87ae3fb61c95697ba762067e5ec7eb5a01fe7abba015fed52186 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/Rai-Okamoto.jpg?bossToken=504c7e56587d8823c3a97d59c53e2020fb6d7ebbfbbd358e403712e8f92111a0 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/Rai-Okamoto.jpg?bossToken=f26aaac9be6c687ac741f4d7531496f67af5da9831120123605108e533e85492 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/Rai-Okamoto.jpg?bossToken=ec2039062e498ec37d2cfbf9103e8bff05c9790fd64836ba7efb5c06df406481 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/Rai-Okamoto.jpg?bossToken=decf19addb645ff0b223fca360b0f95f05f603567d224105741c433470333c66 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/Rai-Okamoto.jpg?bossToken=ab49893f4528a84d939386769a55775d6712a5fb092ddafe7db70c5b36a27538 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/Rai-Okamoto.jpg?bossToken=97b20ab228d1056fc4e72a7a0f8503550e5c4af65418c28e80c1e1b2a6740358 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/Rai-Okamoto.jpg?bossToken=b78403db15a0ddaeff7c4f1d92afc02269a54efec587d414184313d0694718d9 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/Rai-Okamoto.jpg?bossToken=0e39e0157d8f90971d0bd46e56db1ac6542b86aff2239481cd746e41afd0ac43 1543w)
Rai Okamoto
Rai Okamoto: “Whatever happened to the urban design plan?” (1981)
Rai was also principal of the planning and architecture firm Okamoto/Liskamm, and later served as San Francisco’s Director of Planning from 1975 to 1980.
Other influential AAPI individuals that worked with RPA during this era include the famous architect, I.M. Pei. He served on the Committee of the Second Regional Plan and designed several ambitious and controversial urban renewal projects across the country, such as the Pei Plan in Oklahoma City, as well as contributed to the Javits Center in NYC.
In the 1970s, Lilly Chin joined RPA as part of the administrative team, typing reports, helping with events, and supporting the Executive staff. She would go on to work for the organization for around 40 years and assisted four RPA presidents. Lilly retired in 2013.
![1975 Lilly Chin in office](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/1975_Lilly-Chin-in-office.jpg?bossToken=17903c82e033ee2a95e6d4798cf1e89255fc0778f00a212d8dff4a36b262c12b 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/1975_Lilly-Chin-in-office.jpg?bossToken=d40a3179e78c53cb5f8733714f9c864725a45e4028659aacb9927d8e3963b6c6 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/1975_Lilly-Chin-in-office.jpg?bossToken=01133e8ef4bbea8392b35ab80dda6eeb5a0c8cd4ed43faa62cf47793eb858c98 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/1975_Lilly-Chin-in-office.jpg?bossToken=8f10661206a017b23d8c150efd64e677a818b0aa89d715936599c1ad5bfa4ce7 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/1975_Lilly-Chin-in-office.jpg?bossToken=9966b700ac447be509e7b3a53b23367e7a89ea1619e22c519fa35fa2f0174a92 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/1975_Lilly-Chin-in-office.jpg?bossToken=c4d4d2222bdd7597f330e3cead58b219e76995f88b272e80562045db48f7b075 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/1975_Lilly-Chin-in-office.jpg?bossToken=0bf54eedd70f243e5049294896fad070d30544b4048138b4e63ac35ffc67d970 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/1975_Lilly-Chin-in-office.jpg?bossToken=90953b0ea2a781e2ee3957bef6b9e95c3056cec0d75ea93bed9e02e51a076cf6 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/general/Centennial-images/1975_Lilly-Chin-in-office.jpg?bossToken=9ba6d070044a2355041353b94f94dc352dd439778e5f2a9794b0f79667f57359 1543w)
Lilly Chin (1975)
Lilly Chin retirement party (2013)
The number of AAPI residents in the region grew significantly from 1980 to 2020, from around 3% to 15%, and the number of AAPI RPA Board members and staff also increased. Among them was Board Emeritus Dr. Luther Tai, an attorney and engineer who was a former senior executive at Con Edison and is now Chairman and CEO of Roberts Bay Marina.
Former RPA staff members from this time period include but are not limited to Christine Hsu, Mandu Sen, Sanjay Seth, Janani Shankaran, and Fiona Zhu. RPA’s first AAPI Vice President was Lauren Tsuboyama, who oversaw the Communications team for two years until 2020.
Current AAPI staff members are Vanessa Barrios, Manager of Advocacy Programs, and Maulin Mehta, New York Director. Vanessa and Maulin were recently honored for their contributions to the region, with Vanessa being listed on City & State’s Nonprofit 40 under 40 and Maulin on City & State’s top 100 Asian leaders in New York City.
RPA thanks these individuals for their contributions to our organization and to the field of urban planning.