Letter from the President

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Regional Plan Association web site. I hope that you will find it a helpful resource for information and a useful tool for two-way communication with our staff.

That RPA even has a web site says a lot about the longevity and continued relevance of the organization. When the Committee on A Regional Plan of New York and its Environs was formed in 1922 to develop the First Regional Plan, the 31-county tri-state region was still relatively undeveloped, with suburbs as close as Long Island still largely rural.

In New York, the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan has captivated the public attention like no planning project in memory, but it's a big region and there are many other projects. As we take stock of our finite resources at the beginning of the 21st Century, we have a renewed focus on open space preservation, intermodal transportation, urban design and social equity.

This web site is a gateway to all that RPA has accomplished in 80 years and all that we strive to achieve in the next 80 years. I hope you will join us in this mission as we strive to build the best possible region.

Sincerely,

Robert Yaro
President, Regional Plan Association