Panelist
Panelist
Mr. Tom Wright
President Regional Plan Association
Tom Wright is president and CEO of Regional Plan Association (RPA), the nation's oldest independent metropolitan research, planning and advocacy organization. A private, non-profit corporation, RPA improves the prosperity, infrastructure, sustainability, health and quality of life of the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan region by researching and preparing long-range plans and advocating for their implementation.
In 2017, Tom led the production of RPA's landmark Fourth Regional Plan, which proposed 61 recommendations to reform public institutions; modernize transportation systems; tackle the challenge of climate change; and provide affordable and livable communities for all the region's residents. RPA is now working to implement the major ideas in the plan, such as charging all drivers to enter the Manhattan CBD; cutting carbon emissions and scaling up renewable energy sources; creating healthy, affordable housing in every community; modernizing the NYC subways; and building a the Gateway tunnel under the Hudson River connected to a renovated and expanded Penn Station.
Tom is a frequent public speaker and commentator on regional governance, economic growth and development, transit investments, and other policy issues. Prior to being named RPA's president in 2015, Tom was RPA's executive director. In his 20+ years with the organization, Tom has participated in many key RPA initiatives, including the historic Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; the campaign to create a mixed-use district at Manhattan's Hudson Yards; the protection of the New Jersey Highlands; a vision plan for the City of Newark and The Constant Future, a public exhibition in Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall which celebrated RPA's Centennial. Tom was also in charge of producing A Region at Risk, RPA's third plan published in 1996.
In January, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy appointed Tom as the Chairman of the New Jersey State Planning Commission. A visiting lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Tom has a master's in urban planning from Columbia University and a bachelor's in history and a certificate in American Studies from Princeton University.
Speaking at
Thu Apr 11
2:30 PM — 3:30 PM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time
New York Hilton Midtown - Level 2, Murray Hill Suite
From Competitiveness to Well-Being: Changing Priorities for Cities?
This panel will explore the challenges and opportunities cities face with a focus on the U.S./North American context from a variety of different perspectives—economic, social, and governance. Many cities are incredibly desirable and expensive places to live. However, they are struggling with perceptions about safety, quality of life, underlying and persistent inequities, the economic health of city centers, and balancing budgets. What are the major shared challenges cities are confronting and how are they grappling with them? What new opportunities does this moment present? New York City has returned to pre-Covid unemployment levels (as of September 2023) but is grappling with a deepening affordable housing crisis, strained municipal budgets, and long-term climate risks, among other challenges. Is there an emerging playbook for addressing this moment? How is NYC handling these challenges? And, more optimistically, where are the opportunities?
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