The Regional Plan Association

The Regional Plan Association
Name	The Regional Plan Association
Formation	1922
Type	Nonprofit planning organization
Headquarters	New York City
Region served	New York metropolitan area

The Regional Plan Association is an independent nonprofit organization focused on long-range planning for the New York metropolitan area, advocating for integrated transportation, housing, land use, and environmental policies. Founded in the early 20th century, it has produced multi-decade regional plans influencing agencies such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and municipal governments across New York City, Long Island, Westchester County, New York, Rockland County, New York, Putnam County, New York, Bergen County, New Jersey, Hudson County, New Jersey, Suffolk County, New York, and Nassau County, New York.

History

The organization traces origins to the post-World War I era and the same civic milieu that produced the Regional Plan of New York and its Environs (1929), involving figures from the Municipal Art Society, the American Institute of Architects, the City Club of New York, and patrons such as the Rockefeller family and the Phipps family. Early collaborations included planners influenced by Clarence Stein, Lewis Mumford, and Alfred Bettman, and engaged with projects guided by the McMillan Plan precedent and contemporaneous debates over the New Deal public works programs. Over succeeding decades the group interacted with landmark programs including the expansion of the Interstate Highway System, proposals for the Cross Bronx Expressway, and later urban renewal initiatives connected to the Housing Act of 1949 and the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.

Mission and Activities

The association advances a mission to promote sustainable growth, equitable affordable housing production, and resilient infrastructure through research, advocacy, and coalition-building with entities such as the New York State Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Transit Corporation, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and civic groups like New Yorkers for Parks and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Activities include convening advisory panels composed of experts from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, the Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs, the Yale School of Architecture, and think tanks like the Brookings Institution and the Urban Land Institute, as well as producing technical analyses used by legislative bodies including the New York State Legislature and local planning commissions.

Regional Plans and Major Projects

The association's signature regional plans have articulated strategies for infrastructure and land use spanning transportation, climate adaptation, and economic competitiveness. Notable proposals intersect with systems such as the Long Island Rail Road, the PATH (rail system), the Newark Liberty International Airport, the LaGuardia Airport redesign, and freight corridors linking the Port of New York and New Jersey to the Secaucus Junction intermodal network. Projects have addressed resiliency following events like Hurricane Sandy (2012) and interfaced with federal programs including initiatives under the Federal Transit Administration and the National Flood Insurance Program.

Organizational Structure and Funding

The association operates with a board of directors drawn from leaders in the real estate industry, architecture, planning education, and philanthropy, and maintains professional staff including planners, economists, and communications specialists with affiliations to institutions such as the New School and Rutgers University. Funding sources historically include foundations like the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, membership dues from civic partners, and grants from governmental entities such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The organization files with regulatory bodies including the New York State Department of State and complies with nonprofit reporting consistent with the Internal Revenue Service rules governing 501(c)(3) organizations.

Impact and Criticism

Advocates credit the association with influencing transit investments, promoting regional growth centers, and shaping post-Sandy resiliency policy adopted by agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Critics from constituencies connected to groups such as No New Jails Coalition and community organizations in Harlem, Jersey City, and Flushing, Queens have argued that some proposals privileged development interests linked to real estate developers like those associated with Silverstein Properties or Related Companies, and that planning prescriptions sometimes underemphasized displacement risks addressed by statutes like the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. Debates have also involved legal and regulatory matters adjudicated in courts such as the New York Court of Appeals.

Notable Publications and Reports

Key publications include multi-edition regional plans and reports analyzing transit capacity, housing need, and climate risk, produced in partnership with academic centers like the Miller Center for Regional Studies and policy institutes including the Regional Plan Association’s research partners. Reports have addressed topics ranging from the operational scope of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and congestion mitigation strategies akin to those in London congestion charge discussions to freight logistics comparable to analyses for the Port of Los Angeles. Their documents have informed environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act and state-level equivalents such as the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act.

Affiliates and Partnerships

The organization collaborates with a network of affiliated organizations, civic groups, and academic partners including the Municipal Art Society of New York, the New York Building Congress, universities like City College of New York, regional consortia such as the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and international bodies like the United Nations Human Settlements Programme on comparative urban resilience. Partnerships extend to municipal agencies including the New York City Economic Development Corporation and regional authorities such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Category:Organizations based in New York City Category:Urban planning organizations