Regional Plan Association, the nation’s oldest regional planning organization, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary this year.
In its half century, Regional Plan Association’s efforts have led to:
Nearly all of the major parks of the Region or substantial additions to them.
The first federal aid to acquiring open space and the first national park in an urban area, Gateway National Recreation Area.
A regional highway network of related radial and circumferential expressways.
A parkway network leading to the large outlying parks-and the idea that city residents should be able to get onto a parkway in the city on their way to week-end recreation.
The saving of commuter railroad service by bringing the states into the public transportation business and the federal government into supporting it.
The superblock concept carried out in Rockefeller Center, and design theories for compact but not congested downtowns.
The idea and location of Lincoln Center.
The neighborhood unit design expressed in Fresh Meadows, Queens, aimed at creating a sense of community and keeping residential areas a pedestrian haven. Most postwar suburban neighborhoods follow some of the design ideas.
The location of the Region’s four major airports and their unified operation.
The use of television for public participation in planning.
Steps toward the revitalization of Stamford, Paterson, Jamaica (Queens), and New Brunswick as metropolitan centers.
