America 2050

March 19: San Francisco - The Bay Area Council, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR) and Regional Plan Association (RPA) convened a public panel discussion at SPUR on the emergence of the Northern California megaregion. Panelists reacted to a recent report by SPUR describing the Northern California megaregion and discussed collaborative solutions to challenges at this emerging scale. Panelists agreed: the report had heightened awareness to the economic, ecological and cultural connections across Northern California region.  Moderated by Bob Yaro, co-chairman of America 2050 and president of RPA, panelists included Angela-Glover Blackwell, Founder and CEO of PolicyLink, Hon. Christopher Cabaldon, Mayor of West Sacramento, Carol Whiteside, Founder of Great Valley Center, Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of Bay Area Council, and Gabriel Metcalf, Executive Director of SPUR. Read the extended entry for more information on the event and to download the Northern California Megaregion Report by SPUR. 

Washington D.C. - On May 9th, America 2050 convened leaders in the business, civic, labor and philanthropic communities with members of Congress and the Governor of Pennsylvania to address the need for a 21st century infrastructure investment plan to rebuild and renew the nation's aging infrastructure and respond to the challenges of the 21st century. 

The event featured discussions on the topics of water, energy and transportation infrastructure and keynote addresses by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Governor Ed Rendell, Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation, and Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

Opening remarks and morning plenary featured remarks by Philippa Strum, Robert Yaro, Terence O'Sullivan, Gov. Rendell, and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Rosa DeLauro, Tom Petri and Christopher Shays.

Watch the opening remarks and morning plenary panel.

Watch Judith Rodin's keynote address. 

Watch Tom Donohue's keynote address.

The Energy Roundtable featured Bob Baugh, Daniel Braun, Mark S. Dodson, Michael Exchart, Joseph P. Oates, and was moderated by Richard T. Thigpen. 

Watch the energy roundtable.

The Water Roundtable featured Steve Allbee, Sally Collins, Betsy Otto, Kevin L. Shafer and was moderated by Albert Appleton.

Watch the water roundtable.

Closing Plenary panel featured Jonathan Rose, Armando Carbonell, Bob Baugh, Al Appleton, and Mort Downey.

Watch the closing plenary panel. 

Over 130 participants gathered for the day-long event at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Division of United States Studies.  For additional information on the event, click here.

Download a copy of the briefing book.

View a slideshow of the event on Flickr.

Read the proposed legislation, H.R. 5976, to create a U.S. Commision on Rebuilding America for the 21st Century

Photos: Carol Powers

Washington, D.C. - On May 9 America 2050 will host a national forum on infrastructure investment, titled Rebuilding and Renewing America: Toward a 21st Century Infrastructure Investment Plan.  Supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Surdna Foundation and the Division of United States Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center, the forum will launch a civic-led effort to develop a national infrastructure investment plan for the U.S.: a framework for federal investment and complementary actions by states, local government, and the private sector.

The forum coincides with the Bicentennial and Centennial of plans during the Thomas Jefferson (1808) and Theodore Roosevelt (1908) administrations that later influenced the development of national railways and federal-led environmental restoration and power generation projects, respectively. For more information on these historic plans, download a paper by historian Robert  Fishman here.

The day-long forum will convene members of Congress with business industry representatives and leaders in labor, philanthropy and the environmental community to discuss the components of a national infrastructure plan, with sessions on national transportation, water and energy policies. Confirmed speakers include members of congress Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), James Oberstar (D-MN), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Tom Petri (R-WI), Christopher Shays (R-CT), Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Governor Edward Rendell (D-PA).  Keynote speeches will be given by Judith Rodin, President, The Rockefeller Foundation, who will speak about the impact the philanthropic community can make in creating a 21st century infrastructure agenda, and Thomas Donohue, President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce will speak on meeting the transportation and energy challenge of the 21st century.

To view the press advisory, click here.
To view the agenda, click here.
To view the briefing book, click here.

The forum is invitation only.

April 18, New York City - US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer and President of the Rockefeller Foundation Judith Rodin all addressed the deteriorating infrastructure in our nation and called for Washington to establish a vision to renew and rebuild America at Regional Plan Association's Regional Assembly, titled "Oil and Water". Held at the Waldorf=Astoria in Midtown Manhattan, over 700 civic, business, and government leaders filled the room to hear Blumenauer, Rodin, Pelosi and other national and regional leaders address the scarcity of oil and water resources. Blumenauer and Rodin both focused on the nation's over-reliance on fossil fuels and the need for incorporating renewable sources of energy to fuel our cars and buildings.  Blumenauer applauded the America 2050 initiative for thinking in bold terms about the future of our nation and suggested that meetings such as this one should be held in every congressional district.  Rodin, who chaired the Assembly, recommended that federal policies urge coordination of state and local land-use plans with transportation policy. She underscored the importance of federal transportation policy to meet the challenges of climate change, competitiveness and social equity. To the last point, she added that after all, the Civil Rights movement began with "one very brave woman on a city bus; Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who dubbed herself the "Sewer Mayor," shared her experience of rebuilding the deteriorating water infrastructure in the City of Atlanta and highlighted the importance of partnering with the federal government to address Atlanta's water infrastructure crisis.

The Summit's four roundtables - Northeast Corridor Mobility, Regional Landscapes and Climate Change, Local Government Forum on Climate Change, and Subprime Mortgage Crisis and Affordable Housing - were chaired by Jack Lettiere, Jack Lettiere Consulting, LLC and Former Commissioner of NJ DOT, Rob Pirani, Director of Environmental Programs at RPA, Armando Carbonell, Chairman, Department of Planning and Urban Form, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and Merilyn Rovira, Director of Housing and Community Development, Fannie Mae, respectively.

Regional Plan Association and the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program hosted a luncheon forum on February 20 in New York featuring former U.K. Department of Transport Official Oliver Jones (top left) to speak on transportation reform in the U.K. The luncheon was supported by the Surdna Foundation and JPMorgan Chase.

Jones led the team that wrote the Eddington Transport Study--an independent review for the British Government chaired by Sir Rod Eddington (former British Airways CEO), which made the case for tying transportation funding and decisions to economic performance objectives. The study led sweeping reforms to the Department of Transport in the U.K. and a reorganization of the Department of Transport from modally-focused departments (aka dept. of roads, rail, aviation, etc.) to objective-driven departments focusing on cities, intercity travel, and global trade, to name a few.

Oliver Jones' visit coincided with the release of the final report of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission recently and the start of discussions in the U.S. about the next surface transportation legislation at the expiration of the current bill at the end of FY 2009. Jones was joined in New York by panelists (2nd from left to far right): Richard Ravitch, principal of Ravitch Rice and Company, Astrid Glynn, Commissioner of New York State Department of Transportation, Frank McArdle, Commissioner on the National Policy and Revenue Study Commission, Emil Frankel, Director of Transportation Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and Robert Puentes, Fellow at Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program.

Download Oliver Jones' PowerPoint.

Baltimore, Maryland is the site of this year's Northeast Climate and Competitiveness Summit on Friday, February 29th at the historic Tremont Grand Hotel. The Summit brings together over 100 civic, business, and government leaders of the 12 Northeast states and District of Columbia to develop a shared action agenda for economic competitiveness, quality of life, and sustainability in the Northeast Megaregion.

This year's Summit will include keynote addresses by Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania and Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. The Summit is sponsored by Regional Plan Association and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and co-sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Committee, Select Greater Philadelphia, The Chesapeake Crescent Initiative and the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at University of Maryland.

Download the Agenda and Overview

Click here to read about last year's Summit, including presentation and summary notes.

Click here for directions to Tremont Grand Hotel

September 28-30, 2007 - The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) will be hosting the annual conference organized by the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), Regional Plan Association, and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.  The two day seminar will convene directors of metropolitan planning organizations and regional councils from some of the nation's largest metropolitan areas to discuss strategies on making the land use - transportation - climate connection. In addition, participants will also hold a workshop to define the components of a national transportation investment strategy.  The conference will feature a keynote address by Douglas Foy, President of DIF Enterprises and former Secretary of Commonwealth Development at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

For more information, please contact Sharath Vallabhajosyula at Sharath@RPA.org.

Image: wlbeh, flickr.com