by RPA Staff
For nearly a century, Regional Plan Association has identified global and national trends, how they would affect the tri-state metropolitan region, and the steps the region must take to address them. Global warming and energy needs will clearly have profound effects on virtually every aspect of the region's future. How then can these challenges, with implications and causes stretching the world over, be addressed with solutions at the regional or even local scale?
This spring, leaders and policymakers from throughout the metropolitan region will explore this question at the 17th annual Regional Assembly, May 4th at the Waldorf=Astoria. Without answering the question, there are a number of reasons that suggest New York City and the tri-state region must take aggressive action to tackle this challenge.
First, ours is North America's largest urban region, and the global center of media and communications. The policies implemented here can influence actions in the rest of the nation or even the world. California's recent bold moves to address climate change demonstrate the profound psychological impact that a single place can have in taking the initiative in the absence of federal leadership. Even if the New York region does not inspire the federal government to combat climate change, it can inspire other regions and other states to take initiative, which may eventually build momentum to tackle the problem.
Second, the tri-state area contains vast low-lying coastal areas, including much of its urban core, that are particularly vulnerable to flooding and other problems associated with rising sea levels caused by global warming. This dense urban core is also especially susceptible to the urban heat island effect, potentially resulting in thousands, or even tens of thousands, of deaths as demonstrated by recent heat waves in Chicago and Paris. For these and other reasons, unless we act to adapt the region to expected climate change, we will suffer the consequences of inaction.
Third, electricity generation and transportation are our greatest sources of carbon dioxide. The settlement patterns and infrastructure systems that lead to our electricity demand and our transportation mode choice are the result of decisions made at the local and regional level. Only with decisions at this level can we build the communities and the infrastructure that will meet our energy needs while reducing carbon emissions.
Fourth, in moving to address this issue, New York and its environs can start to move to the forefront of an evolving technological revolution that many feel will be the foundation of the new economy. In short, our region can convert a liability into an asset. It can help transition the last remnants of its rust-belt economy into a new economy, based on helping ourselves and others achieve clean energy and more efficient ways of life.
Gaining regional consensus over the need to address climate change will be only half of the battle; the even larger question before us is what we need to do to mitigate our contributions to global warming and to adapt the region to changes that are already underway. This will be the primary focus of this year's Regional Assembly. How do we meet the energy needs of a modern metropolis without contributing to climate change, social injustice, and environmental degradation? What steps are available to help us reach carbon neutrality? Do our tax and regulatory systems need to be updated to incorporate environmental and social costs? How are green community design and Smart Growth different? And most importantly, why should RPA address this issue?
We look forward to continuing this discussion with you at this year's Regional Assembly, "A Bright, Green Future: Climate Change, Energy, and Growth in the Tri-State Metropolitan Region." It will take the entire region working together to mitigate the impact of climate change, meet the energy needs of this region, and do so in a way that allows New York City and its environs to remain competitive and livable.
Mark you calendars for May 4th, and come and help us address these critical issues.
For nearly a century, Regional Plan Association has identified global and national trends, how they would affect the tri-state metropolitan region, and the steps the region must take to address them. Global warming and energy needs will clearly have profound effects on virtually every aspect of the region's future. How then can these challenges, with implications and causes stretching the world over, be addressed with solutions at the regional or even local scale?
This spring, leaders and policymakers from throughout the metropolitan region will explore this question at the 17th annual Regional Assembly, May 4th at the Waldorf=Astoria. Without answering the question, there are a number of reasons that suggest New York City and the tri-state region must take aggressive action to tackle this challenge.
First, ours is North America's largest urban region, and the global center of media and communications. The policies implemented here can influence actions in the rest of the nation or even the world. California's recent bold moves to address climate change demonstrate the profound psychological impact that a single place can have in taking the initiative in the absence of federal leadership. Even if the New York region does not inspire the federal government to combat climate change, it can inspire other regions and other states to take initiative, which may eventually build momentum to tackle the problem.
Second, the tri-state area contains vast low-lying coastal areas, including much of its urban core, that are particularly vulnerable to flooding and other problems associated with rising sea levels caused by global warming. This dense urban core is also especially susceptible to the urban heat island effect, potentially resulting in thousands, or even tens of thousands, of deaths as demonstrated by recent heat waves in Chicago and Paris. For these and other reasons, unless we act to adapt the region to expected climate change, we will suffer the consequences of inaction.
Third, electricity generation and transportation are our greatest sources of carbon dioxide. The settlement patterns and infrastructure systems that lead to our electricity demand and our transportation mode choice are the result of decisions made at the local and regional level. Only with decisions at this level can we build the communities and the infrastructure that will meet our energy needs while reducing carbon emissions.
Fourth, in moving to address this issue, New York and its environs can start to move to the forefront of an evolving technological revolution that many feel will be the foundation of the new economy. In short, our region can convert a liability into an asset. It can help transition the last remnants of its rust-belt economy into a new economy, based on helping ourselves and others achieve clean energy and more efficient ways of life.
Gaining regional consensus over the need to address climate change will be only half of the battle; the even larger question before us is what we need to do to mitigate our contributions to global warming and to adapt the region to changes that are already underway. This will be the primary focus of this year's Regional Assembly. How do we meet the energy needs of a modern metropolis without contributing to climate change, social injustice, and environmental degradation? What steps are available to help us reach carbon neutrality? Do our tax and regulatory systems need to be updated to incorporate environmental and social costs? How are green community design and Smart Growth different? And most importantly, why should RPA address this issue?
We look forward to continuing this discussion with you at this year's Regional Assembly, "A Bright, Green Future: Climate Change, Energy, and Growth in the Tri-State Metropolitan Region." It will take the entire region working together to mitigate the impact of climate change, meet the energy needs of this region, and do so in a way that allows New York City and its environs to remain competitive and livable.
Mark you calendars for May 4th, and come and help us address these critical issues.
@RegionalPlan
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