The report. The study. The long PDF assigned in classes, passed out at events and piled on desks. But is it ever read?
A few years ago, the World Bank was brave enough to admit that nearly one-third of their reports, available online as PDFs, had never been viewed. (The report on their publication traffic is, of course, available by PDF).
While frustrating to think tanks, the lack of report views is somewhat understandable. Reports of any genre can be long and unwieldy, with unsexy titles and topics. And as the organization that once published a report titled Fundamental Property Tax Reform No. 2, we aren’t immune.
Which is why we’ve created a few quick, albeit oversimplified, haikus for some of RPA’s wonky and perhaps not-so-well-known studies. (Feel free to dig deeper, of course, in the PDFs.)
Many more people
coming to region, we think.
plan accordingly.
-- Charting a New Course: A Vision for A Successful Region
Kings Queens Bronx Staten:
Sometimes we don’t want to go
into Manhattan.
-- Overlooked Boroughs: Where New York City’s Transit Falls Short and How to Fix It
Old downtowns vacant
They can be revitalized
through Freddie reform.
-- The Unintended Consequences of Housing Finance
Urban Freight. Beep Beep.
Why all these trucks on my street?
I can’t take the vroom.
90s ‘til today,
gotten better for many
but not for us all.
-- Fragile Success: Taking Stock of the New York Metropolitan Region
Is it hot in here
or just a lack of green roofs?
Urban Heat Island
-- 9 Ways to Make Green Infrastructure Work
Veggies are healthy,
But your race, class and Zip code
may drive health outcomes.
-- State of the Region’s Health: How the New York Metropolitan Region’s Urban Systems Influence Health
Modernization
for old signals, slow trains, means
more than countdown clocks.
Log in, work from home
In the future, we may need
fewer cubicles
-- The Future of Work: A Fourth Regional Plan Whitepaper
Lots of great ideas
Palisades Park, George Wash Bridge
Let’s forget Lomex
-- The First Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs
At far edge of Queens
Trade hiking boots for wet suits
on the water trails.
-- Paddling the Bay: Advancing the Jamaica Bay Water Trail
L closed for repairs
Yes, the time is ripe to make
a train worth the wait
-- A New L Train for New Yorkers
Flooding, storms, sea rise
Should we stay or should we go?
Who? When? Where? How? Why?
-- Where to Reinforce, Where to Retreat: A Fourth Regional Plan Whitepaper
Investing in green
like the Hudson River Park
grows more than flowers
-- Realizing the Benefits of Hudson River Park
Without more rental,
Johnny on Long Island may
live with pops long term.
-- Long Island’s Rental Housing Crisis
Aging rail to Feds:
Please please please send more funding
Repairs are past due.
-- The Need for Greater Federal Investment in Metropolitan Rail
Urban planners & poets: Emily Thenhaus, Moses Gates, Sarah Serpas and Vanessa Barrios