The Urban Action Agenda is a multi-year regional planning process to promote the revitalization of urban centers throughout the nine-county Hudson Valley Region. The UAA supports the capacity for communities to plan using these guiding principles: preserving green and open space, avoiding urban sprawl, and attracting and retaining population through informed urban growth practices.

A half-century ago, the cities and urban centers of the Hudson Valley were “All-American,” a term synonymous with success. They were places at the tops of their games. The generous breadths of Broadways and Main Streets were alive with commerce. Proud waterfronts harbored ferries and shipyards. Factories and shops could not get enough workers.

Not so today. Industry has all but disappeared, many places are faced with blight and too many residents are looking elsewhere to live and set down roots. We believe it doesn’t have to be that way. Pattern actively seeks to map a new course for the Valley through the revival of its urban centers.

Though it is part of the larger New York City Metropolitan Region, the Hudson Valley does not have a single urban center that acts as the region’s heart but instead consists of a constellation of urban centers, large and small, located along the Hudson River and other historic transportation corridors. For purposes of the UAA, urban centers include cities, villages and other areas where population, social, cultural, civic and economic activity have traditionally clustered. Today, these places face a number of challenges such as concentrations of poverty, aging infrastructure, declining or stagnant population numbers, lack of affordable housing and jobs, commercial vacancies, among others; but some of the Hudson Valley’s urban centers are starting to turn the corner. Nationally, trends show a renewed interest in urban living by young adults, empty nesters, and seniors. Vibrant downtowns and waterfronts, walkable neighborhoods, access to high quality public spaces and other amenities are attracting the well-educated workers, innovators and entrepreneurs that are necessary to grow local economies in cities across the country. The urban centers of the Hudson Valley are poised to take advantage of this shift; and to varying degrees some already are.

Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress sees this as a historic moment to focus attention on the revitalization of the region’s urban centers. With their existing infrastructure, these communities are best suited to accommodate the region’s future growth. A focus on urban centers is consistent with our region’s environmental ethos and also serves to aid the preservation of the region’s abundant scenic beauty for residents and visitors alike. In our view, the long-term economic, environmental and societal sustainability of the Hudson Valley is tied to the revitalization of these centers. Vibrant and diverse urban centers can and should be a key part of the Hudson Valley Region’s identity going forward.

Consistent with Pattern’s role as a policy, planning, advocacy and research organization whose mission is to promote regional, balanced and sustainable solutions that enhance the growth and vitality of the Hudson Valley, the UAA will seek to place the revitalization of our population centers squarely at the forefront of the region’s policy and investment priorities at the local, regional and state level. To accomplish this, Pattern will:

• assess the state of the region and benchmark existing indicators;
• convene and collaborate with local officials, regional agencies and organizations;
• educate through written reports about our research and by periodically hosting urban strategists and experts to speak on a variety of topics facing our communities, from transportation and housing to economy and quality of life;
• use public engagement to solicit ideas;
• integrate our work with initiatives in the larger New York Metropolitan Region; and ultimately
• prepare a regional strategy based on local and national best practices that can guide revitalization efforts at the local level and inform decisions at the regional, state and national level.

Twenty-five (25) communities in the Hudson Valley have agreed to participate directly in the UAA initiative over the three-year period. They range from large cities like Yonkers, to mid-sized cities like Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Poughkeepsie, and White Plains, and smaller cities like Beacon, Hudson, Kingston, Middletown, Newburgh, Peekskill, and Port Jervis. They also include the Villages of Brewster, Catskill, Ellenville, Haverstraw, Highland Falls, Liberty, Monticello, Nyack, Walden, and Wappingers Falls, the hamlet of Nanuet, and the towns of Fishkill and Saugerties. Each of these communities has its own unique issues and opportunities; however they share many similar challenges as well. As part of the project, Pattern will develop data profiles for each of these UAA communities and assist them to identify:

• revitalization strategies that are working and which may be transferable,
• unique amenities and assets that should be promoted, and
• transformative or catalyst projects that can be advocated for under the UAA banner

The UAA is funded in part through a grant from the Ford Foundation, with assistance from the Regional Plan Association (RPA). Other funders include Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley and the Hudson River Valley Greenway. Orange & Rockland Utilities, AKRF, and St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital are the primary sponsors of UAA events. In addition, this project, and all of Pattern for Progress’ work in the Hudson Valley, is made possible through the contributions and generous support of our members.

The UAA covers a broad range of topic areas, ranging from Demographic Changes and Housing to Education and Public Safety. Successful urban areas must maintain an awareness of all of these topics, and must strive to improve across a variety of metrics.

Eleven main topic areas were selected through community and regional input to become the core focuses of the UAA. Together, they link to create vibrant communities. Other topics can be addressed as the UAA moves forward. They pose these questions and discussion points: