Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress
Our Mission
Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress is a nonprofit organization that provides objective research, planning, and educational training throughout the region. Its work identifies civic challenges and promotes regional, equitable, and sustainable solutions to constantly improve the quality of life in Hudson Valley communities. Pattern develops its work upon a considerable foundation of facts and experience, without political aims or affiliations.
Building Consensus Through Collaboration
When business and academic leaders founded Pattern in 1965, their goal was to build consensus for a pattern of growth that will ensure a high quality of life for the nine county Mid-Hudson Valley Region. The work plan included the protection of the natural environment, taking from it only those resources needed to promote economic prosperity, and providing adequate opportunities and incentives for capital formation and meaningful, gainful employment.
In that spirit, Pattern brings together business, nonprofit, academic and government leaders from across Columbia, Greene, Sullivan, Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester Counties to collaborate on regional approaches to housing, municipal sharing and local government efficiency, education, land use policy, transportation and infrastructure to move the dial, inspiring growth and vitality for our regional economy.
Pattern’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
It is important to Pattern that diverse populations within the Hudson Valley are beneficiaries of its mission to enhance the growth and vitality of the region and to improve regional quality of life. Pattern believes it is uniquely suited to “move the dial” on the integration of issues of inclusivity and fairness into its traditional areas of work including, but not limited to housing, education, health, community development, economic policy, government efficiency and environmental quality. Pattern can do this because of its research capabilities, its broad relationships and ability to convene diverse groups. Learn more about Pattern’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
NEWEST PATTERN REPORTS
As of the writing of When Hotels Become Home, more than 550 families, including 588 children enrolled in public schools, were living in hotels and motels across the four counties. The number of schoolchildren living in those hotels and motels has increased by 106 percent in the past 15 years, with the largest increase coming in the two years immediately following the pandemic. State education data show that homelessness among schoolchildren is a steadily growing problem in the Mid-Hudson region.
In the report, Pattern outlines the trends and data that illustrate these challenges, the underlying causes, the costs associated with providing shelter, and civic issues associated with the spike in demand for emergency housing. We end with a call to action for our local, state, and federal government officials who have the authority to design a better system that ensures all our neighbors have access to housing that is safe, stable, and truly affordable.
In this report – Closed Schools, Open Minds – Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress documents the school buildings that have closed throughout our region, the demographic and economic factors that led to these closures, and examples of adaptive re-use projects that brought new life to old schools in our region and across the United States.
Pattern hopes to inspire the region to think beyond the last bell when one of our school buildings must close. Communities in our region and across the United States have transformed old school buildings into community centers and event spaces, housing, art galleries, training centers, and mixed-use hubs where people live and work. Pattern hopes to inspire the Hudson Valley to think about closed school buildings as opportunities to rejuvenate our neighborhoods and improve the quality of life in the heart of our communities.
This report examines the latest batch of migration data from the federal government. The data, released on July 28, show that the Hudson Valley lost more people to domestic migration than it gained in 2021, a transition year that included the first expansive rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, the end of many mask mandates, and a record number of home sales throughout our region.
This annual report – Moving In, Moving Out -utilizes federal income tax data to measure the number of people who moved into and out of each county in the Hudson Valley. The data also show the aggregate amount of adjusted gross income that moved with the households.
The movement of households throughout the State of New York during the Covid-19 pandemic also shifted the geographic distribution of incomes in the Hudson Valley.
Pattern’s analysis in this report, Money Migration, is based on five years of data published by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The data utilize tax returns to measure the movement of people and their adjusted gross incomes (AGI) county to county, and state to state. Pattern used these data previously to report on the number of people who moved into and out of the Hudson Valley during the pandemic, including a net gain of approximately 60,000 people from New York City who moved north into our region
Local Zoning, Regional Needs – outlines how other states have preserved the core intent of home rule while also requiring their towns to allow for the development of diverse housing that meets statewide and regional needs and examines the strategies, requirements, and legal precedents utilized by New York’s neighboring states to produce affordable housing for their residents.
The report examines the underlying laws, regulations, and legal precedents related to zoning and housing in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. All those states are so-called “home rule” states, except Vermont.
Making it Mesh: How the Hudson Valley Can Prepare for Next-Gen Wireless –will educate the Hudson Valley about the complex infrastructure that must be deployed for our region to have fifth-generation (5G) wireless broadband connectivity. The demand on our existing wireless network is growing as more people and businesses utilize “smart” devices that require additional bandwidth to relay larger quantities of data. Although 5G has not arrived in much of the Hudson Valley, telecom companies are steadily looking to expand their infrastructure into our communities. Making it Mesh underscores that local policies, outdated zoning, and cumbersome permitting processes could hamper the deployment of 5G infrastructure unless communities prepare now.
Our annual Out of Reach (OOR) report examines the affordability of rental housing throughout the nine counties we serve: Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester. This report is largely based on data published annually by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), which compares fair-market rents (FMR) with average renter wages.
This year’s report continues to underscore an irrefutable truth: even with long work hours or multiple jobs, most renters in our region struggle to pay for rent and modest living costs. Over the past five years, rents across our region have increased by anywhere between 25-45%. With inflation hitting a 40-year peak in 2022, the basic costs of living – food, transportation, healthcare, and more – are also out of reach.
This research brief was inspired by a trend that elected leaders, economic development experts, and business owners have felt across the Hudson Valley for the past several years. Our neighbors often hint at this trend through a nagging set of questions they have been asking more frequently.
- Why is there such a shortage of nurses, restaurant wait staff, and cashiers?
- Why am I receiving fewer and fewer applications when I post a job?
- Have you noticed that it’s taking months to get an appointment to fix your car, paint your house, or get your annual medical check-up?
Data show that the Hudson Valley is experiencing the start of The Great People Shortage, a term that demographers and economists are using for the steady trend toward global population decline. Higher living standards, rising costs, and other factors have pushed global birth rates below the threshold that is necessary to keep populations stable.
Moving In, Moving Out, examines migration data. The data utilize information from tax returns to track domestic and international migration throughout the United States. The data are provided on a county-by-county basis, which allowed Pattern to analyze the inflow and outflow of people for each county in the Hudson Valley. The IRS migration data are considered among the most accurate information for tracking the movement of people throughout the United States. The data in Moving In, Moving Out show migration trends during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Report highlights:
- Hudson Valley lost 4,845 people to migration during the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic
- Hudson Valley has lost people to migration in 24 of the last 25 years, as more than 134,000 people have left the region for neighboring states and the South
- Migration affects counties on a proportional basis.
Pattern launches report and education campaign on electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the Hudson Valley
- Report outlines EV trends and infrastructure needs for the future, as more than $1 billion will be spent across New York to install charging infrastructure
- Campaign includes advice on funding opportunities, working with utilities, best practices and policy recommendations, and a model zoning ordinance for multi-family dwellings
Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress released a report that examines the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) across our region and strategies to install the public charging infrastructure that will power our transportation in the future. Pattern will use this research as part of a public education campaign in 2023. Our researchers and planners will teach the Hudson Valley about EV charging, the proper siting of charging infrastructure, and the funding sources that can help to pay for charging stations.
Upcoming Events
You won’t want to miss this.
A Message from Pattern’s New President & CEO, Adam Bosch!
MAIN STREET: Hudson Valley
A regional resource center providing a comprehensive approach to strengthen main streets through commerce, community and culture.
In recognition of the importance of main streets as drivers of economic growth, social connectivity, and cultural experiences, Pattern is pleased to announce a new Initiative called MAIN STREET: Hudson Valley. The mission of this initiative is to re-energize the pre-pandemic momentum of the past ten years by providing tools and support systems to allow main streets, neighborhoods and community hubs to flourish in the new post-pandemic economy. Through efforts like façade renovation, adaptive re-use, marketing, code enforcement and more, communities can realize main streets as the hubs of commerce and community engagement that define their unique sense of identity.
