Mission & HistoryCenter for an Urban FutureCUF_86c04540-646f-11e0-ad75-5e5d7a64ea2aThe Center for an Urban Future is a public policy organization dedicated to improving the overall health of New York City and serving its long-term interests by targeting problems facing low-income and working-class neighborhoods in all five boroughs. A new kind of think tank, the Center brings a unique, community-oriented perspective to the public policy arena. Our staffers function more like beat reporters than like academics, going out into the field to observe and interview neighborhood residents, local businesspeople and community organizations. We also consult with academic experts, government officials and others, in order to get the broadest possible view of an issue or problem, and to hear from all those affected by it.New York City Low-Income Neighborhoods in New York CityWorking-Class Neighborhoods in New York CityAcademic ExpertsGovernment OfficialsSustainable, long-term management of urban life in the new millennium._86c04d88-646f-11e0-ad75-5e5d7a64ea2aTo improve the overall health of New York City and serve its long-term interests by targeting problems facing low-income and working-class neighborhoods in all five boroughs._86c04eb4-646f-11e0-ad75-5e5d7a64ea2aFactsWe start with the facts.ResearchAs a result, the Center produces groundbreaking research in fields including economic development, workforce development, public and higher education, vocational education, child welfare, and criminal justice. Problem-SolvingBut we don't stop there. Once the Center has a picture of the problem, our rigorous information-gathering techniques become problem-solving and consensus-building tools, which allow us to translate our research into action agendas that win support from a broad range of constituents across the ideological spectrum. Instead of joining well-publicized, politically polarized forensics debates, we focus our efforts on effecting concrete change by bringing lower-profile problems to the table and identifying underused assets — before indelible battle lines are drawn — and then offering thoughtful recommendations for constructive action.Consensus-BuildingWorkable SolutionsThis means not only envisioning workable solutions, but also conveying them clearly and effectively to local advocates, policy makers, academics and the public. We see communication as a vital part of our job. We understand that the right words can generate interest, inspire action, and help frame discussions and recommendations in a positive, solution-oriented way. Our publications are written for people, not just policy experts, because they are meant to be used.Whole-city ApproachWe believe the Center's inclusive, whole-city approach to planning and policy can not only improve life for all New Yorkers, but can also provide a model for other urban areas interested in moving away from politically expedient, piecemeal public policy and toward a sustainable, long-term, vision for managing urban life in the new millennium. Sustainable, Long-term Vision Economic DevelopmentChange New York City's approach to economic development._86c04fa4-646f-11e0-ad75-5e5d7a64ea2a1For the last two years, the Center for an Urban Future has focused much of its energy on changing New York City's approach to economic development, which has long relied upon tax breaks and other incentives to large employers that threaten to relocate outside the city. This approach ignores a treasure trove of smaller businesses and industries, and has led the city to address a range of important social issues — such as education and welfare reform — in relative isolation, and with short-term strategies, instead of within a more innovative, long-term plan. The Center is working to change this with a three-pronged approach focusing on:Sector DevelopmentAdvocate for alternatives designed to broaden the city's existing tax abatement strategy._86c05058-646f-11e0-ad75-5e5d7a64ea2a1.1Good financial advisors recommend a diverse investment portfolio — so why does New York City put so much stock in Wall Street? The financial sector is far too volatile to be relied upon as the city's primary economic engine, yet it remains the consistent focus of government efforts to retain jobs in the city. Worse, current policy tends to reward companies that represent the most credible threat to economic stability, rather than those most likely to help shore it up. One of the Center's major contributions to the economic development arena has been to advocate for practical, proven alternatives designed to broaden the city's existing tax abatement strategy. Our sector-based approach targets entire business sectors instead of individual corporations; it is designed to diversify the economy throughout the five boroughs and increase job opportunities for low-income and working-class New Yorkers. Toward this end, the Center listens to businesses that tend not to get the ear of the mayor and the governor, identifying overlooked sectors with great potential, raising awareness about some of the problems they face, and offering recommendations to help them thrive.Workforce DevelopmentOffer pragmatic policy recommendations aimed at providing better educational and economic opportunities for low-income and working class New Yorkers and support for those businesses most likely to provide these residents with living-wage work. _86c050ee-646f-11e0-ad75-5e5d7a64ea2a1.2No economic development policy can succeed without an able workforce, but the stampede toward a knowledge-based economy has made workforce development among the most pressing economic issues of our time. The Center has been a leader on this issue in New York, focusing attention on the issue and offering pragmatic policy recommendations aimed at providing better educational and economic opportunities for low-income and working class New Yorkers and support for those businesses most likely to provide these residents with living-wage work. We were the first in the city to argue that our public university system has a responsibility — to both businesses and students — to better serve the local economy. Center staff laid out in great detail the role that the City University of New York (CUNY) could play in helping to build and inform local businesses and, very importantly, better link local students to good, living wage jobs. The Center has also closely been monitoring the implementation of the Workforce Investment Act, a five-year federal reform plan offering New York an important opportunity to modernize its approach to jobs development. An 18-month study of the city's current job development system highlighted problems including disorganization and lack of supervision, and the Center has since been working to foster a coordinated workforce development system that connects job-seekers to relevant educational and job training opportunities, as well as to living-wage employers.Real Estate and PlanningChange in the way the city distributes economic incentives [and] a shift away from the city's reactive approach to land-use planning._86c051a2-646f-11e0-ad75-5e5d7a64ea2a1.3The Center views New York City as a community of communities, and we believe that any successful economic development plan must be rooted in neighborhood development, treating communities as interconnected assets instead of competing interests. This vision not only requires a change in the way the city distributes economic incentives, but also a shift away from the city's similarly reactive approach to land-use planning. The city's excessive willingness to allow developers to convert lofts and factories for residential use is creating an incoherent landscape and depleting the stock of commercial and industrial space. The Center has identified the lack of available space as a major barrier to the growth of many industries — particularly manufacturing, which remains an important employer in the city. As the old saw goes, land is always a good investment because they're not making any more of it. The Center believes that New York must stop selling off pieces of the city to the highest bidder and formulate a coherent, five-borough land-use plan that supports struggling industries while maintaining a livable environment for all those who make the city run.Child Welfare WatchExpose how the current child welfare system often overwhelms and mistreats the low-income families and propose level-headed reforms to deal with these problems._86c05242-646f-11e0-ad75-5e5d7a64ea2a2Low-Income FamiliesNew York ForumChild Welfare Watch Advisory BoardChild Welfare Watch is a bi-annual publication seeking to expose how the current child welfare system often overwhelms and mistreats the low-income families it is supposed to serve and proposes level-headed reforms to deal with these problems. It is published in partnership with the New York Forum, a progressive local think tank, and guided by the Child Welfare Watch Advisory Board. To date, the work of Child Welfare Watch has focused on a range of issues riddling the New York City's Administration for Children's Services and its overburdened Family Court system. This work that has forced ACS officials to answer for child removal policies over the last four years that have been, in many cases, needlessly punitive. Child Welfare Watch reports have also demonstrated how glitches in the bureaucracy and the social psychology in ACS, the foster care agencies and the Family Court have contributed to delays in safely returning children to their families or getting them placed in adoption. These are delays that have kept children, on average, in foster care for four years-double the time that children remain in care in nearly every other U.S. city. Finally, Child Welfare Watch examines the effectiveness of ongoing local reform efforts and details innovative work of other agencies nationwide, seeking to ensure that our local families are served more fairly and effectively in the years to come. _86c052d8-646f-11e0-ad75-5e5d7a64ea2a2011-04-11http://www.nycfuture.org/content/about/mission.cfmOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net