The New York City Housing Authority manages 178,000 apartments with more than 420,000 official residents, and by most accounts a budget that’s inadequate to the essential tasks of operation and upkeep. The federal government is moving steadily away from permanent housing supports to new models. What’s Washington’s vision, and how does it affect New York?
Read MoreHow can city government overcome the divide that has made New York a Tale of Two Cities? Public Advocate Bill de Blasio discusses his vision for addressing the pervasive issues of social inequality and economic disparity, and proposes policy innovations in economic development for the future of New York City.
Read MoreNew York City is experiencing a new kind of democracy. Through participatory budgeting, residents of eight City Council districts deliberated and voted this year on how best to spend about $10 million of public money for capital projects in their districts. Can participatory budgeting help strengthen community infrastructure and residents’ own investment in their neighborhoods?
Read MoreHow do cities fit into the current debate in Washington? Are the Obama policies on education, urban development, and social welfare leveraging meaningful improvements for New York and other cities? How will the administration's policies address the social justice issues that were central to the reelection campaign—particularly in terms of making opportunities available to economically and socially disadvantaged Americans?
Read MoreThe striking achievement of Union City, N.J. — bringing very poor, mostly immigrant Latino kids into the educational mainstream — argues for reinventing our public schools into caring, hard-working communities. Author David Kirp’s latest book centers on the remarkable success of a school district five miles and a light year away from Washington Square.
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The city has overhauled its juvenile justice system to keep more young people out of confinement and in their communities. In the process, officials, organizers and providers also aim to strengthen families and neighborhoods. How can city government engage communities and tap into the strengths of local groups that work with teens and families?
Read MoreThe wrenching experience of thousands of New York’s public housing residents following Hurricane Sandy revealed vulnerabilities of physical structures and human services. Volunteers, tenant associations, social service providers and NYCHA technicians all stepped in to do what they could through the worst of the aftermath. What did we learn?
Read MorePolitical campaigns have revolutionized the way they target, contact and motivate supporters. Strategists are taking the insights of experimental social science and marrying them to the corporate world's Big Data marketing tools. The Obama Campaign won in large part by using statistical modeling techniques to identify persuadable voters and to fine-tune persuasive messages.
Read MoreHow can New York sustain and build on positive changes in public education while fixing what isn’t working in our schools? Council Speaker Quinn discusses her views on building a 21st century school system, including innovations for educational improvement to make sure every child graduates high school ready for college and a good job.
Read MoreThe 2012 election lacked the high drama of 2008, when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama made history, Sarah Palin went meteoric, and the economy was in freefall. In contrast, the 2012 campaigns may be remembered as a succession of mini-gaffes and hourly skirmishes fueled by over-caffeinated operatives and reporters on Twitter. Was it all just "sound and fury… signifying nothing?"
Read MoreTo celebrate the 40th anniversary of The New School’s graduate program in Urban Policy Analysis and Management, scholars and policymakers discuss our city's evolution since the early 1970s. Neighborhoods have been revived and rebuilt, migrations have transformed the five boroughs, local government has gone from the edge of insolvency to a steadier state. Yet the New York of 1972 is strikingly similar to the city of today.
Read MoreThe American political and social landscape changed dramatically over the course of the 20th century. Social change did not happen as a natural course of history; countless individuals and groups labored to bring about the rights and privileges to which we’ve grown accustomed today. Some individuals stand above the rest and have become legends of social justice.
Read MoreWith the federal debt at $16 trillion, the fate of the nation's cities stands at a crossroads. While cities like New York appear to be doing better than ever, a rising tide of poverty and inequality threatens to undermine their progress. Meanwhile, a large group of second-tier cities, from Detroit and St. Louis to Stockton and San Bernardino, are besieged as never before.
Read MoreDetroit and New York are both iconic American cities with long histories of tension at the intersections of race and class, labor and capital. In tough economic times, competition for resources and power can be fierce. How do groups demand respect and gain economic influence?
Read MoreWhat matters most in high school? Graduation rates and Regents test scores? College-oriented academics, supportive teachers - or extra-curricular activities? All of these things matter to students, but inside information is hard to find. There is also intense debate about what makes for a "good" high school and how this can be measured.
Read MoreNew York’s homeless population is near an all time high, with more than 40,000 New Yorkers living in shelters — including 16,500 children and their parents. Amid the continuing fiscal crunch, New York City and State recently ended a unique rent subsidy program that helped thousands move out of shelters and into apartments, and new federal rent subsidies are nowhere to be found.
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