Insights
We provide objective assessments and analyses that help clients make forward-thinking, strategic decisions that drive projects forward. Offerings include public policy analysis, market and financial feasibility for public and private investments, and economic and fiscal impact analysis.
Rural healthcare in America is at a pivotal moment. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched the multibillion-dollar Rural Health Transformation Program — one of the most significant federal investments in rural care delivery in decades. In a new Route Fifty op-ed, Principal Shawn Daugherty argues that its success depends on something often overlooked: reliable, affordable high-speed broadband.
This op-ed was originally published by Crains New York Business.
by Jonathan Meyers
In celebration of NYC Climate Week, HR&A CEO Jeff Hébert joined the Adaptation Forum, hosted by The Resiliency Company, for a lightning talk alongside Daniel Kaniewski of Marsh McLennan and Janika McFeely of JLL to explore the question: how do we turn climate risk into resilient communities? The discussion underscored the urgent need to move beyond understanding risk toward building resilience in ways that strengthen communities, markets, and infrastructure.
Written by Phillip Kash and Sarah Kirk
As cities face growing climate risks, what does long-term adaptation really look like? HR&A CEO Jeff Hébert joined Ten Across to discuss community recovery and resilience on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
This op-ed written by Sulin Carling and Larisa Ortiz was originally published by Vital City.
Strengthening colleges and universities by creating vibrant local communities.
Written by Danny Fuchs and Kate Wittels
Written by Candace Damon, Derek Fleming, Danny Fuchs, and Syed Agmal Ali
Written by Erman Eruz
Written by Kate Wittels, Bret Collazzi, Giacomo Bagarella and Amelia Taylor-Hochberg
Written by Kate Wittels, Shuprotim Bhaumik, Bret Nolan Collazzi, and Ashley So
Written by Jeff Hebert, Bret Collazzi, and Cathy Li
Written by Judith Taylor and Garrett Rapsilber
Written by Bret Collazzi, Kate Collignon, and Eric Rothman
Written by Danny Fuchs, Youssef Kalad, and Raquel Vazquez
Written by Dorraine Duncan and Bret Collazzi
The $973 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed into law last year, represents the largest investment in national infrastructure in decades. Before cities, counties, and states can access these funds and leverage any additional public or private funding, they must differentiate their visions, competing with exemplary projects from every corner of the country.
The Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act — “Chapter 91” — gives every state resident a legal right to access waterfront areas called tidelands. The Act defines specific requirements for land uses, building heights, and the siting of public open space in tidelands. The goal of these rules is to preserve public access to the waterfront.
We have been wondering how the diversity of cities in which we work are innovating and adapting to the new reality of hybrid work. Specifically, we were curious if the civic leaders with whom we’ve worked on downtown revitalization in some parts of the country had lessons to share with their counterparts in other regions. Below, we invite you to read responses from nine private developers, city officials, business improvement district heads, and other civic leaders.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs and Inflation Reduction Acts present communities with once-in-a-generation opportunities to pursue federal funding. Historically, communities with more resources or experience navigating the complexities of the federal funding landscape have had greater success. Politics also plays a major role in decision-making. Both facts, along with a lack of equity-driven thinking in the design of these programs has reinforced long-standing inequities.
The majority of office workers are anticipating a new normal: a hybrid work schedule where only 2-3 days of the week are spent in the office. The implications of this shift on commercial building demand has been widely reported on, including last week in the New York Times and Vox, and the effects on workplace activity, company culture, and a wide array of other office-centric factors have also been analyzed in great depth. But what impacts will this change have on the place where we’ve spent much of the pandemic: our homes?
On May 25, the City of San Jose’s elected leaders unanimously approved a Google plan to build an 80-acre mixed use district between the city’s Diridon Station multi-modal hub and Downtown. The project began with a 2017 Google announcement of the project’s intent that was then discussed and negotiated by a diverse set of community leaders working with Google over the course of four years. By the terms of the resulting Development Agreement, what is now known as Downtown West will, when built out, include up to 7.3 million square feet of office, 4,000 homes, retail, hotels, community amenities, and up to 15 acres of parks and open space. It will bring more than 30,000 tech jobs to San Jose.
As American cities grapple with persistently high office vacancies and an escalating housing crisis, a new report provides critical insights into the potential for converting office buildings into residential spaces. “Understanding Office-to-Residential Conversion: Lessons from Six U.S. Case Studies” examines conversion activity in Houston, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Stamford, and Winston-Salem, offering a roadmap for policymakers and developers navigating this complex process.
We’re thrilled to see Hannah Glosser, Director at HR&A Advisors, was featured in SmartCitiesDive for her insights during the Urban Land Institute’s Resilience Summit. In the article “Reimagining ‘Managed Retreat’ in a New Reality,” Hannah discusses the increasingly urgent, and complex, issue of managed retreat in the face of climate change.
A week before President Biden announced the American Jobs Plan, Mariana Mazzucato released Mission Economy: A moonshot guide to changing capitalism. The book builds on her previous work – and that of several other predominantly women economists – exploring the role of government in shaping market dynamics and economic development.
Over the past few months, digital tools have become indispensable to those who can accomplish their jobs digitally. As stay-at-home orders were put in place across the country, some Americans, many of whom were white, more educated, and higher income, were able to trade the open office for the open kitchen. For those workers, over half would prefer to continue to work remotely; Germany is considering mandating that all workers have the option to continue to work from home post-pandemic; and Twitter has announced that its employees will have the option to continue working from home indefinitely. In contrast, other workers, often lower-income, female, and non-white, were unable to conduct their work virtually and had to choose between a paycheck or exposure to the virus.
Bold investments to strengthen New York City’s civic infrastructure are key to a more equitable future and to meet the scale of the challenges we face as a city.
In late January, Mayor Adams announced a bold and exciting goal to require New York City’s for-hire vehicle fleet to reach zero emissions by 2030. This was a welcome step forward, considering the goal is shared by major for-hire platforms, including Uber, as well as the City Department of Transportation, who recognize the climate crisis is an existential threat to our city and our planet.
Change is a natural phenomenon in any neighborhood – families move in and out, businesses come and go, new immigrant groups bring different languages, cultures, and cuisines. When rents begin to grow faster than the incomes of residents, however, the resulting economic pressure can force people from their homes before they are ready to leave. The result is displacement that harms individuals, families, schools, and communities.
by Jonathan Meyers
“There is no going back to the Manhattan retail landscape of 10 years ago or even 10 months ago. We must rethink how we use ground-floor spaces and focus those efforts on the avenues—or some subset of them—to create a critical mass of activities and experiences. Without doing so, we risk losing the vitality of Manhattan altogether.”
Following a challenging election season, the Biden-Harris transition team is now drawing up plans for their policy agenda. Their task is hardly enviable. As we enter 2021, the United States faces four epochal crises: a public health emergency, an economic downturn, climate change, and a reckoning with systemic racism. Addressing these challenges will require a new approach to investing in our communities that stimulates more diverse economic growth, promotes social equity, and taps into knowledge creation that solves, rather than compounds, our twin health and environmental crises.
Written by Candace Damon, Danny Fuchs, and Bret Collazzi
The pandemic has been devastating for gig workers. The Workers Lab’s latest Design Sprint is testing how new technology can fix flaws in the unemployment insurance system and strengthen the safety net for gig workers.
This spring, the City Council will vote on Mayor Eric Adams’ City of Yes for Economic Opportunity proposal – an important step for solving the myriad real estate challenges that small businesses face in a changing economy. It brings about long overdue changes to zoning created over 60 years ago by city planners who could not have conceived of how – and where – our city’s economy operates today. As the Department of City Planning describes it, this proposal will “allow more types of businesses in more places” and remove barriers to growth.
Like many large institutions across the country, New York City’s Montefiore Einstein Hospital and medical school has functioned as a community anchor for decades, providing employment, education, and vital healthcare services for residents of the Bronx. At the same time, the physical setting of the institution’s Morris Park campus – disconnected from the surrounding neighborhood, with unclear boundaries and branding and no existing transit link – has also limited its potential as a community asset and a true regional hub. Could a more integrated planning approach help close these gaps and offer lessons for other sites and cities?
by Andrea Batista Schlesinger
By: Danny Fuchs, Maile Martinez, Shawn Daugherty, Alex Banh, Preston Rhea, and Ana Z. Licona
by Erin Lonoff
The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity is a sweeping zoning reform aimed at tackling New York City’s housing crisis. Approved by the City Council on December 5, 2024, the initiative aims to enable more housing in every neighborhood by increasing allowances, flexibility, and incentives for diverse and affordable housing types, while reducing regulatory hurdles for development and conversions. The City estimates that over 80,000 units will be created through these changes.
Written by Shuprotim Bhaumik and Kristina Pecorelli
Written by Andrea Batista Schlesinger and Mary Jiang
Written by Kate Collignon with Adam Tanaka
Manufacturing in the Time of COVID
Written by Danny Fuchs, Kate Wittels, Jessica Jiang, and Adam Tanaka
Written by Danny Fuchs, David Gilford, and Ariel Benjamin
By Candace Damon, Catherine Nagel, and Claire Summers
Building transit with neighborhoods in mind
Written by Jamison Dague, Jee Mee Kim, and Eric Rothman
Written by Phillip Kash and Jeff Hebert
We Asked 10 Leading Business Support Organizations What They Need to Help Businesses Now. Here’s What They Had to Say.
Written by Andrea Batista Schlesinger
