During the development of the Fourth Regional Plan, RPA committed to incorporating health as a core value of our work.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on our region, we acknowledge that low-income communities have been disproportionately harmed. The pandemic has exposed deep disparities in health according to race, class, and geography. As we know from our research on the connections between planning and health outcomes, the recommendations made by planners have significant consequences in the face of a virus like COVID-19. The virus is most likely to affect people with pre-existing conditions, which can often be connected to the environments in which they live.

The events of 2020 have driven home the need for safe, healthy, and affordable housing for all.

This year we focused on the potential value of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and conversions throughout the region, and found that we could create more than 500,000 new homes without any major new construction. These lower-cost, lower-impact housing solutions are particularly valuable for seniors who want to age in place, people who cannot afford a single-family home, and families who’d like to earn extra income. Our next step is implementation, and we’re working with coalitions to draft statewide language for ADU policies in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

RPA also continued our work to restore New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) facilities to a state of good repair to improve health and quality of life for the 400,000 New Yorkers who live in NYCHA housing. By partnering with Community Voices Heard, we conducted the farthest-reaching assessment to date on the relationship of housing conditions to resident health at NYCHA. We learned that approximately four out of five NYCHA residents need apartment repairs, and that living conditions affect the mental health of one in three residents. Our inaugural Kaplan Fellows for Urban Design also developed a new resident-first approach to upgrading NYCHA buildings and campuses.

In New York, RPA’s testimony for New York City’s Fair Housing Plan, ​“Where We Live,” helped support a major policy shift toward prioritizing affordable housing in wealthier areas which have been able to prevent needed development.

In Connecticut, RPA has focused on bringing economic opportunity and greater diversity to Fairfield County, which has the highest income disparity of any metro region in the United States and some of the worst residential segregation. Through our partnership with Fairfield County’s Center for Housing Opportunity (FCCHO), we are advancing new narratives to change how residents think about affordable housing and deconstruct the psychology of NIMBYism.

Statewide, RPA delivered to Connecticut’s Department of Housing a comprehensive guidebook that every municipality can use to develop better affordable housing plans. We are also partnering with Desegregate CT, a coalition of neighbors and nonprofits working to change exclusionary land use regulations and create more diverse communities. Now is the time for Connecticut communities to change the planning and zoning codes that stand in the way of a more equitable and prosperous future.

As a result of the pandemic, public transit has been facing an existential crisis in 2020.

As people across the region and country have grown more reliant on alternative modes of transportation during the pandemic, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in bike use. Services like CitiBike have set new daily ridership records month after month. Speaking directly to this biking boom, RPA released The Five Borough Bikeway in June calling for a 425-mile comprehensive, citywide network of protected, high-capacity bike lanes throughout New York City. The report illustrates the need and the opportunity for increased, safe cycling to address issues of climate change, congestion, health, and mobility equity, and we are working with partners across the city on its implementation.

RPA continues to make the case for Gateway and a better Penn Station. The Gateway Program got some good news this summer when the Portal Bridge, a key piece of the project, finally received a green light and federal funding. A survey conducted by the Build Gateway Now coalition this fall demonstrated that residents believe commuters will return to mass transit, transit agencies should get more emergency aid, and that Gateway deserves public investment. Now under a new federal administration, the Hudson River Tunnel may be closer to construction than ever before, with a Record of Decision for the long-stalled environmental impact statement and billions in federal funds close to being unlocked.

RPA continues to urge state and federal leadership to fund NJ Transit, especially the bus network. Our report Better Service: Improving the Bus Network in New Jersey pointed out that essential frontline workers, people of color, and women disproportionately depend on local buses, and that buses must be prioritized in state budgets and on city streets.

RPA is focused on research and advocacy that will deliver the policies, practices, and investments needed for a just transition to a decarbonized future.

Our region has committed to hitting ambitious climate targets that approach or achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century, requiring an aggressive shift away from the status quo. But we must address the climate crisis in ways that don’t trigger other crises of equity, affordability, or economic decline, and make the right short-term decisions that allow us to meet long-term decarbonization goals and common sense energy transmission investments. The Fourth Plan and the Board of Director’s Energy Task Force have guided our energy and climate efforts.

RPA continues to build support for regional collaboration around the emerging offshore wind industry. All three states have made strong commitments to developing offshore wind and each are in the process of getting their first major projects underway. RPA’s focus has been on facilitating conversations between states, particularly New York and New Jersey, to consider how a collaborative approach to port development, transmission, and industry attraction would ensure greater benefits to the region versus an individual, go-it-alone approach.

In New Jersey, we see infrastructure investment as a potential solution to not only provide good jobs and put people back to work, but also as an opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while stimulating the economy. The need is vast — whether it’s public transit or port infrastructure needed to usher in the offshore wind industry, billions of dollars of investment are required. With the right policy choices, this investment and these green jobs can come in a way that benefits communities most affected by COVID-19 and the economic crisis.

In light of the COVID-19 crisis, access to green spaces that promote play, exercise, and contact with nature is more important than ever. Unfortunately, a study has shown parks in low-income communities are four times smaller and more crowded than parks in high-income communities, and parks for communities of color are half the size and five times as crowded as parks that are located in majority white communities. New City Parks (NCP), incubated by RPA, is hard at work creating more parks in low-income communities and communities of color.

In New Jersey, NCP has partnered with the city of Passaic and the community to redesign Latona Griffin Park, and is in close collaboration with stakeholders in Jersey City to turn asphalt lots into green, welcoming community spaces. In New York, NCP, with the city of Poughkeepsie, the community, and Scenic Hudson, has broken ground on Pershing Avenue Park and is finalizing the design and financing for the revitalization of Malcolm X Park. Meanwhile, in Buffalo, NCP, Trust for Public Land, and the community are collaborating with the city on finishing a new parks plan, including the revitalization of two to three community parks.

In spring 2020, RPA immediately pivoted to virtual events to enable critical and timely conversations and share important information with a region in the grips of the pandemic. Just a few weeks after the region shut down, we held our 30^th annual spring Assembly featuring 10 virtual discussions that addressed pressing urban issues in the context of the prevailing health, economic, and social justice crises.

From our Assembly series on Confronting COVID-19 in the region, the nation, and the world, to the Our Digital Future and Saving Public Transportation panels, RPA was able to convene thought leaders from around the world and attract an audience of thousands. We continued to use our new digital platform throughout 2020 to draw attention to urban planning priorities such as charting a pathway toward desegregating our neighborhoods, decarbonizing our economy, and working towards an equitable recovery for our region.

Financial and donor information for Fiscal Year 2020 (July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020):