Broad thinking about the future may mean focusing on smaller, technology-based planning solutions, according to this essay from Regional Plan Association Executive Director Thomas K. Wright.
Wright says the RPA has historically focused much of its planning on hard infrastructure like transit. The future, he says, is likely softer and smaller.
"But in our current century, there is the potential for silicon chips, the Internet, and new wireless technologies to make potentially much smaller interventions in the physical environment very important. Mario Gandelsonas, Director of Princeton University's Center for Architecture, Urbanism and Infrastructure, calls these systems 'soft infrastructure.' And as we start to think about what kind of recommendations may be included in RPA's Fourth Regional Plan, we are going to be paying close attention to these opportunities. Call it 'The Smart Region Plan.'"
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