Collaborative Genius: The Regional Planning Association of America: Fid-Bau Portal

Collaborative Genius: The Regional Planning Association of America

Parsons, Kermit C.

The Regional Planning Association of America's very significant impact on some of the central ideas of Western city and regional planning was the product of the collaboration of a dozen or so New York City intellectuals, organized and led by Clarence Stein, from 1923 to 1933. Its core members, close friends with shared values and complementary interests, drove the group's creative thinking and project development. Stein conceived the organization and managed its agenda; Benton MacKaye developed its first project, the Appalachian Trail; Lewis Mumford, Stein, MacKaye, and Henry Wright conceptualized its “regional city idea.” Stein and Wright designed its prototype communities, including Sunnyside Homes and Radburn; Alexander Bing provided the organizational and financial structure for building its experimental communities. The RPAA collaborated for a decade to formulate, build, and write about a vision of future urban communities and regions that continues to infuse Western city and regional planning thought.