Pattern for Progress releases ‘Urban Action Agenda’

Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, an independent economic think tank, has unveiled its “Urban Action Agenda,” a blueprint for the rebirth of cities and urban areas in the ninecounty region.

The report looks at 25 cities and urban areas and offers a toolkit on how to breathe new life into them, said Pattern President Jonathan Drapkin.

“We need to figure out how do we do it, how to we change, and that’s what this report is really doing,” Drapkin said. “It is offering a prescription for how the valley can grow in the years to come, protect our green space, break our cycle of poverty, which will not be easy, but there is no reason why we can’t start now.”

Pattern’s report concluded that:

• Hudson Valley cities and urban areas are far safer than many perceive due to dramatic drops in crime rates.

• The Hispanic population is growing in raw numbers and as a percentage of the population.

• The percent of commuters using trains is increasing in most urban areas, carpooling is decreasing, and more people are walking to work.

• Many closed school buildings across the Hudson Valley are getting creative new uses that serve the public.

• There is increasing access to healthier food in cities and urban areas via farmers’ markets and community gardens.

The Pattern report studied the cities and urban areas of Beacon, Brewster, Catskill, Ellenville, Fishkill, Haverstraw, Highland Falls, Hudson, Kingston, Liberty, Middletown, Monticello, Mount Vernon, Nanuet, New Rochelle, Newburgh, Nyack, Peekskill, Port Jervis, Poughkeepsie, Saugerties, Walden, Wappingers Falls, White Plains and Yonkers.