Long Island is at a tipping point, possessing tremendous innovation potential but hamstrung by a shortage of affordable housing, limited downtown development and gaps in science education, new research suggests.

Three studies issued by the Long Island Index, a 10-year-old research initiative, describe the opportunities and challenges facing the Island. Long Island Profile 2012, written by Regional Plan Association, documents the region's progression from America's poster child of postwar optimism to a place experiencing a midlife crisis of uncertainty. A new poll conducted by the Center for Survey Research at Stony Brook shows Long Islanders concerned about the future but more open to new ways to grow, such as building more apartments in Long Island's downtowns. And the Innovation Index, written by Collaborative Economics, points the urgency of connecting Long Island's research institutions, skilled work force and other assets to restore a high-wage, dynamic economy.

Long Island's economic competitiveness will be on the agenda at a town hall meeting in Hauppauge in Suffolk County on Jan. 31. Everyone is welcome.

Support is growing for more prosperous, livable communities.

Efforts to foster job creation, improve infrastructure and protect natural resources in New York and Connecticut got a big boost this month as Long Island and Stamford, Conn., won government grants aimed at promoting development around transportation hubs. At the same time, a consortium co-led by RPA kicked off a series of town halls in the region to listen to residents' ideas for transforming their communities. Read the full story here and see a video report on the Stamford town hall. Also, read a story in Planning magazine on RPA's work to create more livable, sustainable communities.

On Tuesday, August 16th, RPA hosted a forum on Long Island to highlight best practices in downtown redevelopment. Under the leadership of Long Island Committee co-chairs Gregg Rechler and Matt Kissner, RPA convened over 60 elected and public officials to share ideas on how to create more dynamic, successful downtown centers on Long Island. These centers will become increasingly important in fueling Long Island's future prosperity as the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) will soon offer greatly reduced travel times as a result of the East Side Access project.

The August 16th forum, sponsored by Rechler Equity and the Rauch Foundation, represented a continuation of the work RPA has done in recent Long Island Index reports - "Places to Grow" and "Getting it Done" - in addition to our experience with transit-oriented development (TOD) planning throughout the New York metropolitan area. The day was organized around a combination of information sessions, illustrative case studies of success from Long Island and the greater region, and interactive discussions, as well as a lunch panel discussion about planning resources from regional agencies on Long Island.

Throughout the day, there were a total of six case study presentations on success stories in downtown redevelopment, including Mineola, the Ronkonkoma Hub, and Wyandanch on Long Island, and Harrison, NY, South Orange, NJ, and Stamford, CT, from around the region. One of the overriding goals of the forum was for the case study presenters to share lessons learned and replicable strategies for success, and to engage with participants in collaborative discussions. RPA will synthesize the results of the forum in a Findings Report to be released later in 2011. The forum was appropriately called, Making It Happen, and the case study presenters were elected officials and planning directors who are doing just that.

Download the Agenda from Making it Happen

A report released today by the Brookings Institution shows the New York-New Jersey region ranks 13th out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the nation in providing its residents with transit access to jobs. A separate ranking for the region covering most of Fairfield County ranked 31st. The report, Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America, found that while 70 percent of all residents in the largest metro areas can get to public transit, the typical resident can reach only 30 percent of the region's jobs by transit.

In a report prepared for the Long Island Index, RPA examined how local planning processes impede transit-oriented development and downtown revitalization. Synthesizing the work of a team of researchers, Getting it Done identifies a Top Ten list of issues that make it difficult, expensive and time-consuming to build well-designed mixed-use development on Long Island, as well as six goals to improve the planning process. The report builds on Places to Grow, a report prepared by RPA for last year's Long Island Index that identified 8,300 acres of potential land within a ½ mile of our downtowns that could accommodate the next generation of people and jobs.