Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy

Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy
Name	Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy
Formation	1995
Type	Research center
Headquarters	New York City
Parent organization	New York University

Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy

The Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy is a research center based at New York University connected to New York University School of Law, New York University School of Arts and Science, and located in Manhattan. The center conducts interdisciplinary research that informs public policy debates in New York City, while engaging with practitioners from Municipal governments, Philanthropy, Real estate firms, and Community development corporations. It is regularly cited by outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist.

History

The center was founded in 1995 during a period of urban renewal debates involving stakeholders such as David Dinkins, Rudolph Giuliani, and Michael Bloomberg, and emerged from collaborations between faculty at New York University and policy practitioners from Brookings Institution, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and Urban Institute. Early projects intersected with initiatives led by Robert Moses-era planners and postwar housing research associated with Jane Jacobs and William H. Whyte. Over subsequent decades the center expanded amid shifts in housing finance influenced by legislation like the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and regulatory changes following the Financial Crisis of 2007–2008.

Mission and Research Focus

The center’s mission emphasizes rigorous analysis of issues at the intersection of housing, land use, and public policy, drawing upon scholarship from faculty affiliated with New York University School of Law, Princeton University, Harvard University, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley. Research topics include affordable housing policy shaped by actors such as New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, rental market dynamics examined in contexts like Brooklyn and Manhattan, zoning regimes traced to laws like the Zoning Resolution of 1916, and neighborhood change comparable to case studies in Harlem, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Astoria, Queens. The center uses empirical methods common to scholars at National Bureau of Economic Research, American Economic Association, and Urban Affairs Association.

Programs and Initiatives

Programs include applied policy workshops that convene officials from New York City Council, staff from the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, leaders from Enterprise Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and representatives from major developers such as Related Companies and Extell Development Company. Initiatives target tenant protection efforts in the vein of Rent Stabilization, eviction prevention modeled on programs in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and inclusionary zoning approaches akin to Inclusionary Housing Program (New York City). The center also administers fellowships for postdoctoral researchers affiliated with institutions like Columbia Law School and Harvard Kennedy School.

Publications and Data Tools

The center produces annual reports including the State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods and analytical briefs that echo methodologies used by Census Bureau researchers, Department of Housing and Urban Development analysts, and demographers at Population Reference Bureau. Data tools and maps draw from sources such as the American Community Survey, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics, and municipal datasets used by NYC Open Data and planners at Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Its working papers are circulated alongside research from National Low Income Housing Coalition, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, and Urban Institute.

Partnerships and Funding

The center collaborates with academic partners including Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and Yale School of Architecture, and with policy organizations such as Enterprise Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Robin Hood Foundation, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Funding sources have included philanthropic support from entities like Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and corporate contributions from firms operating in Real estate investment trusts and private equity groups tied to transactions in Manhattan and Brooklyn. It also receives project-specific grants from agencies such as Department of Housing and Urban Development and collaborates on contracts with municipal bodies including New York City Housing Authority.

Impact and Notable Contributions

The center’s research has influenced policy debates on rent regulation reforms championed by members of the New York State Legislature and informed litigation strategies used by tenant advocates in cases before New York Court of Appeals and federal courts influenced by precedents from Supreme Court of the United States. Its empirical analyses of eviction trends have been cited by advocacy groups like Legal Services NYC and shaped pilot programs implemented by the Mayor’s Office of Operations. The center’s mapping of neighborhood change informed preservation efforts in Greenwich Village and rezoning discussions in East New York and has been referenced in comparative studies involving cities such as Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.

Category:Research institutes in New York City