July 19, 2018
Regional Plan Association’s Fourth Regional Plan presents solutions to pressing issues including housing affordability, an overburdened transportation network, and climate change across the tri-state region
New York, NY, July 19, 2018 – The Center for Architecture is proud to announce the opening of The Future of the New York Metropolitan Region: The Fourth Regional Plan on Thursday, July 26 at 6:00 pm. The exhibition, organized by the Regional Plan Association, presents the organization’s long-range plan to address urban challenges facing the New York Metropolitan area.
The REGIONAL PLAN
For nearly 100 years, the Regional Plan Association has conducted research, and policy and advocacy initiatives that to improves the economic health, environmental resilience, and quality of life in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area. RPA’s flagship product is its long-range plans, which have guided the growth of this region and inspired regions around the globe. The ideas and recommendations put forth in the RPA’s first three plans, published in the 1920s, 1960s, and 1990s, have led to some of our area’s most significant infrastructure, open space, and economic development projects, including the construction of the George Washington, Verrazano, and Triborough Bridges, the development of LaGuardia, Newark, and JFK Airports, the pedestrianization of Times Square, and the transformation of Governors Island into a popular urban park.
In November 2017, RPA published The Fourth Regional Plan: Making the Region Work for All of Us, a product of five years of research and public engagement with a wide range of stakeholders.
“RPA’s Fourth Plan is a blueprint for creating a healthier, more sustainable, more equitable region, one with more affordable housing, better and expanded public transit, and a closer connection with nature” said Juliette Michaelson, Executive Vice President, Regional Plan Association. “This exhibit provides an opportunity for New Yorkers and regional visitors to explore the Fourth Plan and imagine what our future could look like if we are bold enough to reach for it.”
The plan seeks to address issues including housing affordability, overburdened transportation infrastructure, and the region’s vulnerability to climate change, while helping to bring nearly two million jobs by 2040, as well as shared prosperity and well-being across the region. Like the plans released before it, The Fourth Plan is intended to help elected officials, policymakers, and advocates plan for the region’s future.
AT THE CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURE
The exhibition at the Center for Architecture will explore The Fourth Regional Plan by investigating four critical area types across the region: the core, the suburbs, local downtowns, and regional green spaces. Each section will be analyzed through the four main actions the plan proposes to address the region’s issues: fix the institutions that are failing us, create a dynamic, customer-oriented transportation network, rise to the challenge of climate change, and make the region affordable for everyone.
In addition to The Fourth Regional Plan, the exhibition will also showcase the Four Corridors, a special, six-month initiative launched prior to the release of the Fourth Regional Plan. The Regional Plan Association worked in collaboration with Guy Nordenson, Paul Lewis, and Catherine Seavitt, to engage architects and designers in exploring the future of four specific corridors in the New York metropolitan region:
- Coast (Rafi A+U + DLANDstudio)
- City (Only If + One Architecture)
- Suburbs (WORKac)
- Highlands (PORT + Range)
RELATED PROGRAMS
Opening
Thursday, July 26, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Creating More Housing without New Construction
Friday, September 14, 8:00 – 10:00 am
Designing the Future of the Tri-State Region
Monday, October 29, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
About the Center for Architecture
The Center for Architecture is the premier cultural venue for architecture and the built environment in New York City, informed by the complexity of the City’s urban fabric and in dialogue with the global community. The Center shares a home with the AIA New York Chapter and has the unique advantage of drawing upon the ideas and experiences of practicing architects to produce thought-provoking exhibitions, informative public programs, and quality design education experiences for K-12 students. It also leads New York City’s annual month-long architecture and design festival, Archtober. The Center for Architecture’s aim is to further public knowledge about New York City architecture and architects, foster exchange and collaboration among members of the design, development, building, scholarly, and policy sectors, and inspire new ideas about the role of design in communities by presenting contemporary and practical issues in architecture and urbanism to a general audience. www.centerforarchitecture.org
About Regional Plan Association
Regional Plan Association is an independent, not-for-profit civic organization that develops and promotes ideas to improve the economic health, environmental resiliency and quality of life of the New York metropolitan area. We conduct research on transportation, land use, housing, good governance and the environment. We advise cities, communities and public agencies. And we advocate for change that will contribute to the prosperity of all residents of the region. Since the 1920s, RPA has produced four landmark plans for the region, the most recent was released in November 2017. For more information, please visit www.rpa.org or fourthplan.org.