Regional Plan Association will soon publish a new set of policy recommendations for the New York Metropolitan Region. As they emerge from research, the Association is seeking comments from as broad a range of the public as possible - all who will make the effort to digest the facts and imagine the possibilities. This publication sets out the issues on which the Association would like thoughtful opinions. It includes many proposals which are not yet accepted Regional Plan Association policies.
The completed policies will make up the Second Regional Plan. The first Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs was published in 1929; its influence on the metropolitan highway network and on regional parks was significant. It also introduced some important design ideas, such as the superblock, adopted in Rockefeller Center, and subdivision and zoning concepts. That plan was pioneering; no one had ever conceived of a plan for a huge urban region before. Indeed, there was little local and no county planning at the time.
The influence of the Second Plan could be even greater than the effect of the 1929 Plan because now the idea of planning for metropolitan areas is widely accepted. It is now required by federal statute before a whole array of federal grants can be made. The articulate public is demanding more rational development patterns; many decision-makers recognize the regional aspects of their actions and that a regional plan is needed for guidance.