RPA Radio host, Dr. Sam Bowden Akbari, is joined by Vanessa Barrios, Director of DEI Initiatives, to launch the first episode of RPA Radio. The pair discuss the rise of regional planning in the US, the origins of their organization (Regional Plan Association) which stretches back over 100 years, as well as the creation and foci of the four regional plans the organization has produced. Links to the works mentioned during the episode can be found below. 

Sam’s staff page: https://rpa.org/about/staff/sam-bowden-akbari 
Vanessa’s staff page: https://rpa.org/about/staff/vanessa-barrios
RPA website: https://rpa.org/
RPA’s archive: https://rpa.org/archive
RPA’s IBX work: https://rpa.org/work/campaigns/triboro
RPA’s City of Yes work: https://rpa.org/work/reports/city-of-yes-and-missing-middle-housing
RPA’s 1st Regional Plan: https://rpa.org/work/reports/regional-plan-of-new-york-and-its-environs
RPA’s 2nd Regional Plan: https://rpa.org/work/reports/the-second-regional-plan
RPA’s 3rd Regional Plan: https://rpa.org/work/reports/a-region-at-risk-the-third-regional-plan 
RPA’s 4th Regional Plan: https://rpa.org/work/reports/the-fourth-regional-plan 
RPA’s work on travel speeds in Manhattan’s CBD: https://rpa.org/news/lab/congestion-has-never-been-worse-the-need-for-congestion-pricing-never-greater 
RPA’s offshore wind report, “Ports of Opportunity”: https://rpa.org/work/reports/ports-of-opportunity

E1: Regional Planning in the Tri-State? Who is RPA?

Join host, Dr. Sam Bowden Akbari, and Vanessa Barrios, RPA’s Director of DEI Initiatives to dive into Vanessa’s main project, the Healthy Regions Planning Exchange (HRPE), a national consortium of planning organizations working to improve health equity through better urban planning. 
Materials we discuss can be accessed below!

RPA’s Healthy Regions Planning Exchange website: 
https://rpa.org/work/campaigns/health-equity

RPA’s HRPE key publications and blog posts include:

Addressing Racial Inequality in Planning: https://rpa.org/latest/lab/addressing-racial-inequality-in-planning 

Investing in Infrastructure for Healthy Communities: 
https://rpa.org/work/reports/infrastructure-healthy-communities 

Pathways to Health Equity: https://rpa.org/work/reports/pathways-to-health-equity 

Preventing Another Ida: Stormwater Management and Basement Apartments in Central 

Queens: https://rpa.org/work/reports/hurricane-ida-stormwater-management-queens 

Federal Dollars for Local Infrastructure: Tracking IIJA Funding in Our Region: https://rpa.org/latest/lab/tracking-iija-funding 

Demystifying Federal Funding for Healthy Communities: https://rpa.org/latest/lab/demystifying-federal-funding-for-healthy-communities 

Fostering Cross-Cultural Collaboration and Change: https://rpa.org/latest/lab/fostering-cross-cultural-collaboration-and-change-reflecting-on-the-lakota-media-summit 

Housing as a Framework for Health Equity: https://rpa.org/work/reports/housing-as-a-framework-for-health-equity 

Reclaiming Public Space for Health Equity: https://rpa.org/work/reports/reclaiming-public-space-for-health-equity 

ACT-LA’s “Metro as a Sanctuary” report: https://www.act-la.org/metro-as-a-sanctuary-report/ 

E2: Embedding Healthy Equity in Planning ft. Vanessa Barrios

In the 3rd episode of RPA Radio, host, Dr. Sam Bowden Akbari, is joined by RPA’s EVP, Kate Slevin, to dive into all things congestion pricing in NYC.

On January 5th of this year, the nation’s first ever congestion pricing tolling program went into effect as NYC joined global cities such as London and Singapore, who use a tolling fee to curb congestion, pollution, VMTs, and use the toll revenue to fund the mass transit system. Join Sam and Kate as they look back on the first three months of the program and go back in time over the twenty-plus-year advocacy journey to bring this transportation planning milestone to fruition.

Kate’s retrospective can be found here: rpa.org/news/lab/congestion-p…icing-a-retrospective

RPA’s look back at our roll in post-9/11 recovery: rpa.org/news/lab/revisiting-t…n-for-lower-manhattan 

RPA’s research on the record-slow travel times in the CBD: 
rpa.org/news/lab/congestion-h…pricing-never-greater 

RPA’s research into how congestion pricing benefits both New Yorkers AND New Jerseyans: rpa.org/news/lab/reminder-new…om-congestion-pricing

RPA’s look at how congestion pricing is saving commuters time and money: rpa.org/news/lab/what-it-means-to-save-time

Honking is down: www.thecity.nyc/2025/03/11/traffi…ngestion-pricing/
Retail is up: www.governor.ny.gov/news/traffic-do…orks-congestion

RPA Radio is produced by host Sam Bowden Akbari, edited by Meaghan McElroy, with music by Nate Dorr.


E3: 3 Months of Congestion Pricing in NYC, ft. Kate Slevin

RPA Radio is the official podcast of Regional Plan Association (RPA). We discuss all things regional planning across the tri-state region. 

RPA is the oldest metropolitan planning organization in the US. We use urban planning, research, and advocacy to help make the tri-state region a better place to live.

E3: 3 Months of Congestion Pricing in NYC, ft. Kate Slevin

RPA Radio

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