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ShapingtheRegionSincethe1920s,RegionalPlanAssociationhasdevelopedgroundbreakinglong-rangeplanstoguidethegrowthoftheNewYorkmetropolitanarea.Theseeffortshaveshapedandimprovedtheregion’seconomichealth,environmentalsustainabilityandqualityoflife.TheRegionalPlanofNewYorkandItsEnvironsdefinedtheregionas22countiessharingcriticaleconomic,transporta-tionandopenspacesystems.Today,RPAdescribestheNewYorkmetropolitanareaas31countiesinthreestates.NewYork’smostprominentbusinessandprofessionalleadersjoinedforcestolaunchasingularlyambitiousefforttosurvey,analyzeandplanthefuturegrowthoftheregion,oneofthelargest,mostdynamicanddiversemetropolitanregionsintheworld.ThisinitiativewasthefirsttorecognizeaNewYorkmetropolitanregion–onethatencompassedNewJerseyandConnecticut.Theresultsofthiseffortwerethepublicationofthelandmark1929RegionalPlanofNewYorkandItsEnvirons,thefirstlong-range,region-widemasterplanfortheNewYorkmetropolitanregion,andtheincorporationoftheRegionalPlanAssociation,anorganizationwhosepurposewastoseethattheregionalplanwasimplemented.In1922,Sincethen,RPAhasconceived,researched,writtenandexecutedtwomorecomprehensiveregionalplansforgreaterNewYork,in1969and1996.In2013,RPAbeganworkonafourthregionalplan.Overthelastninedecades,RPAhasbeenthemostinfluentialvoiceinshapingthedevelopmentoftheNewYorkmetropolitanregion.RPAhasguidedtheimplementationofeachplanwithouttheauthorityvestedingovernment,relyinginsteadontheintegrityofsolidresearchandthepowerofgoodideas.IntheprocessRPAhascreatedamodelforcivicengagementandactionstrategiesthathaveinspiredplannersofmajorcitiesaroundtheworld.Bytranscendingelectioncycles,partisaninterests,statebordersandhumanprejudices,RPAhasbeenenormouslysuccessfulinadvancingtheimplementationofitsrecom-mendations.MostofRPA’spro-posalsforinfrastructureinvestments,urbandevelopmentandenviron-mentalprotectionhavebeenimplemented.TheresultsofthisworkhavehelpedmakeNewYorkagreatworldcity,andcontinuetoshapetheregion’squalityoflifeandcompetitiveness.RPAandtheRegionTheFirstRegionalPlanNewYorkinthe1920swasboomingTheRegionalPlanofNewYorkandItsEnvirons(1929)economically,demographicallyandculturally.Thecity’spopulationhaddoubledintheprevious30years,withwelloverathirdofitssixmillionresidentsforeign-born.ManyNewYorkerswerestillpoorandlivinginovercrowdedtenements,butunemploymentwaslowandper-capitaincomewasrisingrapidly.NewYork’sthrivingmanufac-turingandshippingindustrieswerehelpingtheeconomysoar.FreightshippedinandoutofNewYorkCityportsincreasedby50%inthefirst25yearsofthe20thcentury.Increasinglysophisticatedengineeringmadepossibletheconstructionofskyscrapers,creatingthecity’siconicskyline,andagridofwater,sewerandpowerlinesbelowthestreets.Anetworkofundergroundandelevatedsubwaysalsowasspreadingrapidlyacrossthegrowingmetropolis.Intercityandfreightrailcorridorswereadaptedandexpandedtoserveemergingsub-urbancommunitiesintheHudsonValley,Connecticut,andevenLongIslandandNewJersey,areaspreviouslyaccessibleonlybyferry.Automobileswerebecomingmoreaffordable,andthecitywasslowlyresurfacingitsstreetswithmoredurablepavingmaterials.TheGardenCitymovementofthelate1800s,whichaimedtoreduceovercrowdingincitiesbybuildingnewsuburbancommu-nities,wasgainingtractionastrainsandcarstransformedthegeographyoftheregion.RuralareasjustafewmilesoutsidetheurbancoreoflowerManhattananddowntownBrooklynweresuddenlywithinareasonablecommuteofdowntown.Yet,byandlarge,theexplosivegrowthofthecityandtheregioninthe1920swasunplanned,theresultoflittlebutmarketforcesatwork.WhencivicandbusinessleadersestablishedtheCommitteeonaRegionalPlanofNewYorkandItsEnvironsin1922,theiraspirationstointroducerationalityinthewaytheregionwasgrowingwerenothingshortofrevolutionary.TheRegionalPlanofNewYorkandItsEnvirons(1929)Forsevenyears,thestaffoftheCommitteeonaRegionalPlansurveyedandanalyzedtheNewYorkmetropolitanareaatascaleneverbeendonebefore,anywhereintheworld.FundedbytheRussellSageFoundation,itproducedthefirstbasicregionalmapofNewYork,documentingexistingconditionsblockbyblock.Itcollectedandexaminedextensivequantitativedataaboutdemographics,populationdistribution,economicconditions,landutilization,transportation,naturalfeaturesandothercharacter-isticsofthegreaterregion–atatimewhensuchdataweredifficulttocomeby,letaloneanalyze.Limited-accesshighwaynet-works,promotedbythefirstplan,havesincebecomethearmatureofeverymoderncityintheworld.Firstlong-rangemetropolitanplanTheGardenCitymovementandDanielBurnham’s1909PlanofChicagocreatedantecedentsforplanningonacommunityorevenacityscale.ButRPA’s1929planwasthefirstonetoconsiderandplanforalargeregion–thelargestintheworldatthetime–comprehen-sively,andforthelongterm.Theplanaimedtore-ordertheregioninamorerationalway,byorganizinglandusesandprovidingappropriatetransportationoptions.Theplanproposedanelaboratenetworkofhighways,railroadsandparks,alongwiththeirancillaryresidential,commercialandindus-trialcenters,asthefoundationofthephysicalandsocialdevelopmentoftheregioninthe20thcentury.Thegoalwastoprovideaccesstomoreoftheregionandgiveoptionsforlivingbeyondtheovercrowdedco