Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM)

The Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving public policy and management by fostering excellence in research, analysis and education.  With over 1,500 academic, practitioner, organizational and institutional members, APPAM promotes its mission through the annual Fall Research Conference, with the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (JPAM), the association's journal, several award programs and various activites including international and national conferences and workshops.

Filed under: Organizations


Best Practices Database in Improving the Living Environment

UN-HABITAT
This searchable database contains over 3,800 proven solutions from more than 140 countries to the common social, economic and environmental problems of an urbanizing world. It demonstrates the practical ways in which public, private and civil society sectors are working together to improve governance, eradicate poverty, provide access to shelter, land and basic services, protect the environment and support economic development.

Filed under: Links


BJS Crime Type Data

U.S. Department of Justice
BJS provies data on the types of crimes that occur in the the U.S. and where. The site includes a city-level survey of crime, victimization, and citizen attitudes.

Filed under: Data


BJS Law Enforcement Data

U.S. Department of Justice
BJS provides a variety of data related to law enforcement.

Filed under: Data


Bureau of Justice Statistics

U.S. Department of Justice
The Bureau of Justice Statistics provides national data on such justice-related issues as crimes, victims, and corrections.

Filed under: Data


Center for an Urban Future

The 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.

Filed under: Organizations


Center for Poverty Research

University of Kentucky
The Center’s research mission is a multidisciplinary approach to the causes, consequences, and correlates of poverty and inequality in the United States, with a special emphasis on the residents of the South. A focused research agenda on poverty among the residents of the South is critical to our Nation’s poverty research effort because low-income populations in the South face a different set of challenges than comparable groups in other parts of the United States, which is manifested in a host of economic and social disparities including higher rates of poverty, inequality, and welfare-program utilization.

Filed under: Organizations


Center for Urban Research and Policy—Columbia University

Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs
The Center for Urban Research and Policy (CURP) has been established at a time of profound economic, political, and social change. The civic discourse has become increasingly anti-urban with fewer opportunities for informed non-partisan dialogue. Political leaders and ordinary citizens need reliable policy research, training in technology, and opportunities for public discussion on issues of concern to America’s cities. As an internationally known research university located in New York City, Columbia has a special responsibility to make a substantial contribution to these efforts. CURP promises to fulfill this responsibility by becoming a national resource for education, research, and discussion on issues confronting America’s cities. The Center is engaged in an ambitious program of training, research, and public discussion.

The need for the Center is increasingly apparent in the visible problems and repeated fiscal crises of our cities. Opportunities are evident in the renewed interest in domestic public policy and by an increased willingness by various sectors of society to “do something.” However, greater voice and focus and better dialogue and data are required to create a capacity for more informed discussions which will help influence the larger national agenda in effective policy-making. With the support of the entire Columbia community, the Center and its programs draw attention to issues confronting urban America and prepare the nation’s leaders for the challenge of solving these problems. 

Filed under: Organizations


Chicago Policy Review

University of Chicago
Since 1996 the Chicago Policy Review (CPR) has published top scholarship in the field of public policy analysis. Initially a forum for renowned scholars and policy experts such as Nobel Laureate James Heckman, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator John McCain, the journal has primarily published the work of students and alumni of the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago since 2006.

The Chicago Policy Review (ISSN: 1093-8990) is edited and published annually by the students of the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies. By establishing linkages between theory and practice, the Review aims to promote thought provoking, insightful, and relevant public policy decision-making.

Filed under: Journals


Cities Alliance

The Cities Alliance is a global partnership for urban poverty reduction and the promotion of the role of cities in sustainable development.

The Cities Alliance prioritizes support to cities, local authorities, associations of local authorities and/or national governments that are committed to:
• Improving their cities, and local governance, for all residents;
• Adopting a long-term, comprehensive and inclusive approach to urban development;
• Implementing those reforms necessary to effect systemic change, and to achieve delivery at scale; and
• Decentralizing resources to empower local government

Filed under: Organizations


Cities in the 21st Century

International Honors Program
Cities in the 21st Century program examines the intentional and natural forces that guide the development of the world’s cities. It combines an innovative urban studies academic curriculum with fieldwork involving public agencies, planners, elected officials, NGOs and grassroots groups in important world cities where exciting changes are taking place.

Filed under: Links


Citiwire.net

Citiwire.net's mission is to reflect a new narrative for 21st century cities and regions.   Leaving behind the 20th century pattern of cheap energy, endless automobility, burgeoning suburbs, threatened inner cities.  To a challenge-packed 21st century: energy prices headed north, perilous carbon emissions, deepening have-have not divisions, excruciating social problems and deep challenges in education.  But a time of exciting promise, too: for example rejuvenated downtowns, revival of classic walkable neighborhood form, new citistate-wide consciousness, more protected lands, upgrading rather than bulldozing developing world slums.  Citiwire.net’s quest: to chronicle struggles, illuminate pathways to more vibrant, equitable, sustainable choices for grassroots America and urban regions worldwide.

Filed under: Links


Consolidated Planning/ Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) Data

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) periodically receives "custom tabulations" of Census data from the U.S. Census Bureau that are largely not available through standard Census products. These data, known as the"CHAS" data (Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy), demonstrate the extent of housing problems and housing needs, particularly for low income households. The CHAS data are used by local governments to plan how to spend HUD funds, and may also be used by HUD to distribute grant funds. 

Filed under: Data


County and City Data Books

University of Virginia
This resource provides access to the 1944 through 2000 County and City Data Books providing users with the opportunity to create custom printouts and/or customized data subsets (subsets only available for 1988-2000). 

Filed under: Data


DataPlace

DataPlace is an easy-to-use source of U.S. housing and demographic data from the census tract to the national level. The cite currently contains data from the 1990 and 2000 Censuses, as well as home mortgage, Section 8, and housing needs data. There is useful directory and users can create their own maps. Included topics are mortgage lending, income and employment, housing, health, social and demographic, education, arts, and federal expenditures.

Filed under: Data


Displaced New Orleans Residents Survey (DNORS)

Rand
The new Displaced New Orleans Residents Survey (DNORS) is designed to examine the current location, well-being, and plans of people who lived in the City of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck on 29 August 2005. The DNORS study builds on an earlier pilot study, the Displaced New Orleans Residents Pilot Survey (DNORPS), which was fielded in the fall of 2006. Documents describing DNORPS are available, as well as initial publications, and data.

Filed under: Data


Efficacy of Chicago's blue light cameras in deterring crime is debated.

September 28, 2011

Filed under: New & Noteworthy


Fair Market Rents

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Fair Market Rent data from 2000 through 2011.

Filed under: Data


Goethe-Institute

A German Institute devoted to architecture, urban space, city research, town planning, and urban development.

Filed under: Organizations


HUD State of the Cities Data Systems

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The HUD State of the Cities Data Systems (SOCDS) provide data on metropolitan areas, central cities and suburbs: demographic and economic data from the 1970 through 2000 U.S. censuses, current employment statistics, jobs, business establishments, and average pay, crime, building permit, and urban public finance data.

Filed under: Data


Initiative for a Competitive Inner City

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City is a nonprofit research and strategy organization and the leading authority on U.S. inner city economies and the businesses that thrive there. Founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, ICIC strengthens inner city economies by providing businesses, governments and investors with the most comprehensive and actionable information in the field about urban market opportunities.

Filed under: Organizations


Initiative for Regional and Community Transformation

Rutgers University
The Initiative for Regional and Community Transformation (IRCT) is a university-based effort that helps community residents and leaders in the public and private sectors frame workable policies that will bolster the political, economic, and social participation of marginalized communities within the larger metropolitan community. The IRCT's vision is inclusive. Not only does it encompass concerns for the poor, but leaders of the Initiative also believe that in order for metropolitan regions to support sustainable and livable communities, all sectors of civil society must be involved and see a shared interest.

Filed under: Organizations


Joblessness and Urban Poverty Research Program

Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
The Joblessness and Urban Poverty Research Program was established in 1996 under the direction of William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor. The Program seeks to analyze the effects of increasing urban poverty and joblessness plaguing the inner cities and to ensure that scholarly research plays a critical role in the creation and implementation of national public policy concerning the poor.
Through conferences,seminars, and research activities, the Program agenda focuses on the various social forces and ecological factors that contribute to the marginalization and social isolation of urban populations.

Filed under: Links


Joint Center for Housing Studies

Harvard University
The Joint Center for Housing Studies is Harvard University's center for information and research on housing in the United States. The Joint Center analyzes the dynamic relationships between housing markets and economic, demographic, and social trends, providing leaders in government, business, and the non-profit sector with the knowledge needed to develop effective policies and strategies.

Filed under: Organizations


Journal of Policy Analysis & Management (JPAM)

Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM)
APPAM founded the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (JPAM) in 1981 through the merger of two other journals – Policy Analysis and Public Policy. Wiley-Blackwell (formerly John Wiley & Sons) has published JPAM since 1981. The current contract for publishing JPAM runs until the end of 2016. JPAM is published quarterly and is a peer-reviewed research journal. The creation of JPAM fulfilled one of the primary reasons for APPAM's existence: the dissemination of the highest quality, multidisciplinary research in public policy and management. As the Association's journal of record, JPAM's ultimate purpose is building a professional community of scholars and practitioners devoted to more effective policy analysis and public management.

Filed under: Journals


Journal of the American Planning Association

American Planning Association
Since 1935, the quarterly Journal of the American Planning Association has published research, commentaries, and book reviews useful to practicing planners, policy makers, scholars, students, and citizens of urban, suburban, and rural areas. JAPA publishes only peer-reviewed, original research and analysis. It aspires to bring insight to planning the future, to air a variety of perspectives, to publish the highest quality work, and to engage readers.

Filed under: Journals


Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Database

The LIHTC database, created by HUD and available to the public since 1997, contains information on nearly 31,251 projects and over 1,843,000 housing units placed in service between 1987 and 2007. HUD's database is the only complete national source of information on the size, unit mix, and location of individual projects. The database includes project address, number of units and low-income units, number of bedrooms, year the credit was allocated, year the project was placed in service, whether the project was new construction or rehab, type of credit provided, and other sources of project financing. The database has been geocoded, enabling researchers to look at the geographical distribution and neighborhood characteristics of tax credit projects. 

Filed under: Data


Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy

Harvard University Kennedy School of Government
The Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy is a vibrant intellectual community of faculty, master's and Ph.D. students, researchers, and administrative staff striving to improve public policy and practice in the areas of health care, human services, criminal justice, inequality, education, and labor. The work of the Center draws on the worlds of scholarship, policy, and practice to address pressing questions. Over the last twenty years, the Wiener Center has been an influential voice in domestic policy through faculty work on community policing, welfare reform, youth violence, inner city poverty, youth and the low-wage labor market, American Indian economic and social development, and medical error rates.

Filed under: Organizations


Metropolitan Area Look-Up

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
This system provides the user with a facility to select a state and county combination to determine if the selected county is part of an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defined Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA). The system has been updated with OMB area definitions published for FY 2009.

Filed under: Links


Metropolitan Area Quarterly Residential and Business Vacancy Report

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
This Metropolitan Area Quarterly Vacancy Report takes a regional or metropolitan perspective on residential and business vacancies using vacancy definitions and mail delivery data from the US Postal Service. In a special agreement with the US Postal Service (USPS) USPS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) receives quarterly Address Management System (AMS) ZIP+4 extracts of addresses identified by USPS carriers as having been "vacant" or "no-stat" and aggregates this data to the census tract level.

Filed under: Data


National Poverty Center

University of Michigan
The National Poverty Center (NPC) was established in the fall of 2002 as a university-based, nonpartisan research center. We conduct and promote multidisciplinary, policy-relevant research on the causes and consequences of poverty and provide mentoring and training to young scholars.

Located within the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, the NPC benefits from close proximity to an extensive and diverse group of University of Michigan-based scholars from such units as the Institute for Social Research; the Department of Economics; and the Schools of Education, Public Health, and Social Work. In addition, the NPC draws on the work of over forty nationally recognized scholars from around the country, our Senior Research Affiliates.

Major funding for the NPC is provided through a cooperative agreement with the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. University of Michigan funders include the Ford School, the Office of the Vice-President for Research, the Institute for Social Research, and the Rackham School of Graduate Studies.

Filed under: Organizations


Neighborhood Stabilization Program Data

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (www.hud.gov/nsp) provides emergency assistance to state and local governments to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight within their communities. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) provides grants to every state, certain local communities, and other organizations to purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes and to rehabilitate, resell, or redevelop these homes in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes. This site provides data that may be useful for NSP grantees implementing the program.

Filed under: Data


Neighbourhood Boundaries, Social Disorganisation and Social Exclusion, 2001-2002 UK

Economic and Social Data Service
The central aim of this research was to investigate the underlying premises of UK neighbourhood crime policies through a comparative study of the responses to crime and disorder within both affluent and deprived neighbourhoods, the extent and nature of informal means of social control utilised by their residents and how collective efficacy is related to social capital and social cohesion. A further aim of the research was to examine the nature of social interaction relating to crime and disorder between the neighbourhoods in order to identify the extent to which such defensive or exclusive strategies may contribute to the social and spatial exclusion of deprived neighbourhoods.

Filed under: Data


Photographs give insight into the world's one billion slum dwellers, a number expected to double by 2030.

March 09, 2012

Filed under: New & Noteworthy


Policy Studies Journal

American Political Science Association; Policy Studies Organization
As the principal outlet for the Public Policy Section of the American Political Science Association and for the Policy Studies Organization (PSO), the Policy Studies Journal (PSJ) is the premier channel for the publication of public policy research. PSJ is best characterized as an outlet for theoretically and empirically grounded research on policy process and policy analysis. More specifically, we aim to publish articles that advance public policy theory, explicitly articulate its methods of data collection and analysis, and provide clear descriptions of how their work advances the literature.

Filed under: Journals


Poverty & Public Policy

Poverty & Public Policy is a new global journal that will address all the complex aspects of poverty, income distribution, and welfare programs around the world. The journal will be eclectic, publishing peer-reviewed empirical studies, peer-reviewed theoretical essays on approaches to poverty and social welfare, book reviews, and data sets from scholars and practitioners, including those in less developed nations.

Filed under: Journals


Practicing Planner

American Planning Association; American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP)
The American Institute of Certified Planners'  online quarterly provides a forum to analyze, critique, and review issues that affect professional planning practice.

Filed under: Journals


Research Committee 21

International Sociological Association
Research Committee 21 (RC21) on the Sociology of Urban and Regional Development of the International Sociological Association was established in 1970 to promote theory and research in the sociology of urban and regional development, and - in so doing - create an international community of scholars who will advance the field.

At a time when cities, towns, and regions, and the world more broadly, are undergoing profound change, these international links are of critical importance for promoting and advancing scholarship. Web pages, such as this, and e-mail, provide mechanisms for more easily enabling and maintaining these contacts.

Through this page, we wish to provide as much information as possible, both to RC21 members and non members, including providing links to other sites of interest.

Filed under: Organizations


Shack/Slum Dwellers International

Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) is a network of community-based organizations of the urban poor in 33 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It was launched in 1996 when “federations” of the urban poor in countries such as India and South Africa agreed that a global platform could help their local initiatives develop alternatives to evictions while also impacting the global agenda for urban development. In 1999, SDI became a formally registered entity.

Filed under: Organizations


The Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality

The Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality (MCSUI) is the product of an interdisciplinary team of more than forty research scholars at 15 U.S. colleges and universities. Funded principally by the Russell Sage Foundation and The Ford Foundation, the MCSUI is designed to broaden the knowledge and understanding of how three sets of forces--changing labor market dynamics, racial attitudes and stereotypes, and racial residential segregation--act singly and in concert to foster contemporary urban inequality. To address issues in each of these domains, the MCSUI research team engaged in primary data collection, conducting linked household-employer surveys in four metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

Filed under: Data


Urban Development

World Bank
Today, the World Bank with its partners is committed to promoting sustainable cities and towns that fulfill the promise of development for their inhabitants -- in particular, by improving the lives of the poor and promoting equity -- while contributing to the progress of the country as a whole.

As the world is becoming more urban and governments are decentralizing responsibility and authority for governance to localities, closely working with cities and municipalities to address urban development is a timely and urgent World Bank priority

Filed under: Links


West Coast Poverty Center

University of Washington
The West Coast Poverty Center (WCPC) at the University of Washington (UW) serves as a hub for research, education, and policy analysis leading to greater understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and effective approaches to reducing it in the west coast states. Funded in October of 2005, the Center is one of three regional poverty centers funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Filed under: Organizations