Long Range Planning for
Sustainable Growth
Petra Todorovich
Director, America 2050
Regional Plan Association
Greater Vancouver Livability Forum
June 1, 2009
Vancouver, BC
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Strategies at Every Scale
1. Global Trends
2. National Policy
3. Megaregion-scale
coordination
4. Regional investments
5. City planning & urban
design
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Rapid population growth and
demographic change
Global climate change and foreign oil
dependence
Threats to our global competitiveness
Economic disparities and loss of
opportunity
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Megaregion Priorities:
Building Blocks of a National Plan
•High-speed rail
•Seaports,
airports, and
goods
movement
•Energy
transmission
and generation
•Water
infrastructure
and protection
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A Tradition of National Planning
Gallatin Plan 1808
Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford
Pinchot 1908
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National Resources Planning
Board and the Interstate System
Early interstate plan, from “Toll Roads and Free
Roads,” National Resources Planning Board
and Bureau of Public Roads, 1939
National System of Interstate Highways, Public
Roads Administration, 1947
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The American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act
“This is an opportunity
not only to deal
with the
immediate crisis,
but also to lay the
foundations for
long-term growth
and prosperity in
this country.”
– President Barack
Obama
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The Northeast Megaregion
• 49 million
inhabitants
• 17% of U.S.
population on 2%
of the land area
• 20% of U.S. GDP
• Will add 19
million additional
people by 2050
Boston
New York
Philadelphia
Baltimore
Washington
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Rapid Urbanization
Sprawl is causing
the megaregion
to grow together
– but with trade
offs to the
environment and
quality of life.
Source: RPA GIS Model,
Woods & Poole County
Population projections
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Large Landscapes and Estuaries
Source: RPA, adapted
from the Appalachian
Mountain Club
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Vision : Dense Hubs
connected by high-speed transport
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The Cascadia Megaregion
1. Lead N. America in
sustainable urban
development
2. Enhance Cascadia
“brand” – agricultural
products, tourism, and
more
3. Increase connections
across international
border
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The Third Regional Plan
•Greensward
A 3-million acre network of
protected natural resource
systems
•Mobility
A seamless 21st century mass
transit system
•Centers
Maintaining half the region’s
employment in urban centers
•Workforce
Assisting minority and immigrant
communities to fully participate in
the economic mainstream
•Governance
Restructuring institutions and
fiscal incentives
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The Implications of Sprawl
The region is running out of the
developable land and
infrastructure capacity
necessary to sustain growth
into the 21st Century.
NY
CT
Implications
• Economy: Sprawling
development patterns limiting
economic growth.
NJ
• Equity: Further Isolation of lowincome communities.
• Environment: Degrading our
remaining open spaces.
Data Source: 1930-1990 provided by RPA, USGS, and
Cornell & 2020 by Hunter College
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Transit Oriented Development in the NY Region
•Brownfield redevelopment
•Retrofitting sprawl
•Intensifying centers
Existing
Trend Growth
TOD Growth
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What’s at Stake
Increasing Land Consumption per
Capita:
1960-90
Pre-1960= 0.10 acres/person
1960 to 1990=1.2acres/person
Growth will consume over
2 million acres in 25 years.
Pre-1960
Loss of Open Space
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Photo taken by Alex Maclean: Landslides
What’s at Stake
Decline of urban centers
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What’s at Stake
Segregation of land uses
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Photo taken by Alex Maclean: Landslides
What’s at Stake
Traffic and congestion
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Photo taken by Alex Maclean: Landslides
Strategies for Older Cities
Inner Connections and Outer Connections
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Newark Vision Plan Summaries
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Recommendations
• Develop
a Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) system for key
Newark corridors
• Make the road network
work
• Encourage dense new
development around transit
nodes and along transit
corridors
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Final Thoughts
• Implementation is required at every
scale.
• Things take time!
• Dare to make grand plans.
• A Crisis is a terrible thing to waste.
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www.America2050.org
www.rpa.org
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