The Urban Portal

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American Housing Survey (AHS)

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The AHS is the largest, regular national housing sample survey in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the AHS to obtain up-to-date housing statistics for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). An introductory booklet created by Census Bureau provides an overview of housing data. 

Filed under: Data

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American Planning Association (APA)

APA is an independent, not-for-profit educational organization that provides leadership in the development of vital communities. The American Planning Association was created in 1978 by the consolidation of two separate planning organizations, but its roots go all the way back to 1909 and the first National Conference on City Planning in Washington, D.C.

Filed under: Organizations

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Are Promise Neighborhoods worth the cost?

In May 2010, President Barack Obama announced a request for $210 million in federal funding for the Promise Neighborhoods Program, an effort to replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) model in twenty cities across the United States.

March 01, 2011

Filed under: Issues

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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

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BJS Corrections Data

U.S. Department of Justice
This site holds a collection of BJS data related to corrections. The collection includes information on jail and prison inmates and sexual offenders, as well as probation services and the state of jails and prisons. 

Filed under: Data

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BJS Courts Data

U.S. Department of Justice
BJS provides data from statistical projects and surveys conducted at various court levels. The site also includes data on juveniles in criminal court.

Filed under: Data

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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

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BJS Law Enforcement Data

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

Filed under: Data

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BJS Victims Data

U.S. Department of Justice
BJS provides data on victimization and intentional violence.

Filed under: Data

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Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program

The Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program provides decision makers with timely trend analysis, cutting-edge research and policy ideas for improving the health and prosperity of cities and metropolitan areas.

Our work is designed to help metropolitan areas (and the cities and suburbs within them) adapt to rapid economic, demographic, and technological changes and ultimately achieve three goals that are central for success in the new global order:

    * Productive growth 
    * Inclusive growth 
    * Sustainable growth 

Filed under: Organizations

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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

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CalWORKs Datasets

Rand
The CalWORKs Datasets includes data related to the statewide evaluation of the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Program.

Filed under: Data

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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

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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

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Center for Urban and Regional Studies

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Created in 1957, the Center for Urban and Regional Studies is one of the oldest university-based research centers of its kind. The Center's mission is to promote and support within UNC-Chapel Hill, high-quality basic and applied research on urban, regional and rural planning and policy issues. The Center seeks to generate new knowledge of urban and regional processes and problems and ultimately to improve living conditions in our communities. This is done by involving the University's faculty and graduate students in large, multidisciplinary research projects and smaller, more narrowly focused projects. The Center's mission also includes promoting the use of the research it facilitates.

Filed under: Organizations

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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

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Center for Urban Schooling

University of Toronto
Since its inception, the Centre for Urban Schooling has been involved in a number of research projects and program activities at the school, community, and government levels.  CUS will continue to broaden its research agenda, both locally and globally, in order to contribute to the ever-growing discussion about urban education around the world.

Filed under: Organizations

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Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development

DePaul University
The Chaddick Institute, located at DePaul University in Chicago, advances the principles of effective land use, transportation and community planning. Founded in 1993, the institute offers planners, attorneys, developers, and entrepreneurs a forum to share expertise on difficult land-use issues through workshops, conferences and policy studies.

Filed under: Organizations

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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

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Cities Centre

University of Toronto
Cities Centre is a multi-disciplinary research institute. The mandate of the Centre is broad: to encourage and facilitate research, both scholarly and applied, on cities and on a wide range of urban policy issues, both in Canada and abroad, and to provide a gateway for communication between the University and the broader urban community.

Filed under: Organizations

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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

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Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning

Cities offers a comprehensive range of articles on all aspects of urban policy. It provides an international and interdisciplinary platform for the exchange of ideas and information between urban planners and policy makers from national and local government, non-government organizations, academia and consultancy.

The primary aims of the journal are to analyze and assess past and present urban development and management as a reflection of effective, ineffective and non-existent planning policies; and the promotion of the implementation of appropriate urban policies in both the developed and the developing world.

Filed under: Journals

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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

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City and Community

American Sociological Association
City & Community aims to advance urban sociological theory, promote the highest quality empirical research on communities and urban social life, and encourage sociological perspectives on urban policy. It welcomes contributions that employ quantitative and qualitative methods as well as comparative and historical approaches. The journal encourages manuscripts exploring the interface of global and local issues, locally embedded social interaction and community life, urban culture and the meaning of place, and sociological approaches to urban political economy. The journal also seeks articles on urban spatial arrangements, social impacts of local natural and built environments, urban and rural inequalities, virtual communities, and other topics germane to urban life and communities that will advance general sociological theory.

Filed under: Journals

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City of Chicago Data Portal

The City of Chicago’s Data Portal is dedicated to promoting access to government data and encouraging the development of creative tools to engage and serve Chicago's diverse community. Here you’ll find essential data presented in easy-to-use formats to help Chicagoans keep track of how their government is performing and build innovative applications to benefit residents and visitors alike.

Filed under: Data

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City, Culture, and Society

The 21st century has been dubbed the century of cities - sustainable cities, compact cities, post-modern cities, mega-cities, and more. CCS focuses on urban governance in the 21st century, under the banner of cultural creativity and social inclusion. Its primary goal is to promote pioneering research on cities and to foster the sort of urban administration that has the vision and authority to reinvent cities adapted to the challenges of the 21st century. The journal aims to stimulate a new interdisciplinary paradigm that embraces multiple perspectives and applies this paradigm to the urban imperative that defines the 21st century.

Topics of special interest to CCS include urban economics, cultural creation, social inclusion, social sustainability, cultural technology, urban governance, sustainable cities, creative cities. As a peer-reviewed international journal, CCS welcomes contributions from disciplines including but not limited to economics, business, accounting, planning, political science, architecture, geography, sociology, historiography, cultural studies, population studies and public administration.

Filed under: Journals

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City-Region Studies Centre

University of Alberta
The City-Region Studies Centre (CRSC) is a University of Alberta research unit that engages with communities to explore the nature of towns, cities, and regions.  CRSC is one of the only centres in North America to focus on regional research. To do this, we undertake both engaged and theoretical activities, work with clients, sponsor events, host visiting experts and public lectures, and maintain a global set of links with planners and academics, and cities and institutes. We are the portal to urban and regional teaching and research at the University of Alberta.

CRSC's goal is to increase understanding of the cultural, political, economic interactions and interdependencies within these social spaces and to inform public policy and improve the well-being of citizens.

Filed under: Organizations

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Clean Cities

U.S. Department of Energy
Clean Cities is the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) flagship alternative-transportation deployment initiative, sponsored by the Vehicle Technologies Program. Clean Cities has saved nearly 3 billion gallons of petroleum since its inception in 1993. More than 8,400 stakeholders contribute to Clean Cities' goals and accomplishments through participation in nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions across the country. Private companies, fuel suppliers, local governments, vehicle manufacturers, national laboratories, state and federal government agencies, and other organizations join together under Clean Cities to implement alternative-transportation solutions in their communities.

Filed under: Links

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Components of Inventory Change (CINCH)

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The Components of Inventory Change (CINCH) report measures changes in the characteristics of the housing stock of the United States. Using data collected from the national American Housing Survey (AHS), conducted every two years, the characteristics of individual housing units are compared across time. This comparison allows researchers to see not only changes in the characteristics of housing units, but also in the characteristics of occupants. Information is available on the characteristics of units added and removed from the housing stock.

Filed under: Data

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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

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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

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Crime Lab

University of Chicago
The University of Chicago Crime Lab seeks to improve our understanding of how to reduce crime and violence by helping government agencies and non-profit organizations rigorously evaluate new pilot programs.

Filed under: Organizations

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Data.Seattle.Gov

City of Seattle
The purpose of Data.Seattle.Gov is to increase public access to high value, machine-readable datasets generated by various departments of Seattle City Government.

Filed under: Data

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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

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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

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Economic and Social Data Service

The Economic and Social Data Service is a national data archiving and dissemination service in the UK which came into operation in January 2003. The service is a jointly-funded initiative sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).

The ESDS is a distributed service, based on a collaboration between four key centres of expertise:

UK Data Archive (UKDA), University of Essex
Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) , University of Essex
Manchester Information and Associated Services (MIMAS), University of Manchester
Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR), University of Manchester

These centres work collaboratively to provide preservation, dissemination, user support and training for an extensive range of key economic and social data, both quantitative and qualitative, spanning many disciplines and themes. The ESDS provides an integrated service offering enhanced support for the secondary use of data across the research, learning and teaching communities.

Filed under: Data

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European Association for Urban History

The European Association for Urban History was established in 1989 with the support of the European Union. The Association organizes conferences every two years. These biannual conferences provide a multidisciplinary forum for historians, sociologists, geographers, anthropologists, art and architectural historians, economists, planners and all others working on different aspects of urban history. Membership in the Association is free of charge, and is demonstrated by repeated active participation at the conferences. The Association supports participation of young scholars by stipends, which cover registration fees, and since 2010 it even offers mobility stipends in a limited number of justified cases. The first conference took place in Amsterdam in 1992.

Filed under: Organizations

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European Institute for Comparative Urban Research

The European Institute for Comparative Urban Research (Euricur) aims to gain a deeper understanding of how cities develop and how they are managed. To that end Euricur initiates and carries out studies on strategic urban issues in response to the challenges cities and metropolitan regions face.

Filed under: Organizations

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European Urban Knowledge Network

The European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN) shares knowledge and experience on tackling urban issues. The key objective is to enhance the exchange of knowledge and expertise on urban development throughout Europe, bridging urban policy, research and practice. Thirteen EU Member States (National Focal Points, NFP), EUROCITIES, the URBACT Program and the European Commission participate in this European initiative. The EUKN Secretariat is housed at Nicis Institute in The Hague.

Filed under: Organizations

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Fair Market Rents

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

Filed under: Data

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Food Environment Atlas

Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture
The Atlas assembles statistics on three broad categories of food environment factors:

Food Choices—Indicators of the community's access to and acquisition of healthy, affordable food, such as: access and proximity to a grocery store; number of foodstores and restaurants; expenditures on fast foods; food and nutrition assistance program participation; quantities of foods eaten; food prices; food taxes; and availability of local foods

Health and Well-Being—Indicators of the community’s success in maintaining healthy diets, such as: food insecurity; diabetes and obesity rates; and physical activity levels

Community Characteristics—Indicators of community characteristics that might influence the food environment, such as: demographic composition; income and poverty; population loss; metro-nonmetro status; natural amenities; and recreation and fitness centers

The Atlas currently includes 168 indicators of the food environment. The year and geographic level of the indicators vary to better accommodate data from a variety of sources. Some data are from the last Census of Population in 2000 while others are as recent as 2009. Some are at the county level while others are at the State or regional level. The most recent county-level data are used whenever possible.

Filed under: Links

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Friends of Downtown

Friends of Downtown is the voice for intelligent planning and urban design for downtown Chicago. Founded in 1981, the organization is recognized as a vital and influential component of the city’s design and building process. Friends of Downtown directly influences planning and development decisions through debate, public advocacy, and cooperation with other civic organizations. Friends of Downtown creates awareness of important issues affecting downtown, enabling citizens to develop their understanding and voice their opinions of Chicago’s physical and social environment. Members throughout the metropolitan area are committed to ensuring that downtown Chicago remains the well-designed, vibrant, economic heart of the city.

Filed under: Organizations

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Government Sponsored Enterprise Data

The Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes a wealth of information on the mortgage purchases of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) that HUD oversees. The GSEs are secondary-market institutions that purchase single-family conventional loans originated in the United States. HUD has established housing goals in accordance with the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (the 1992 GSE Act). Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are required to meet specified goals for purchases of mortgages that finance housing for very-low-, low- and moderate-income families and families living in areas traditionally underserved by the mortgage market. These new data sets shed light on their efforts and provide additional data for mortgage research.

Filed under: Data

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Great Cities Institute

University of Illinois at Chicago
The Great Cities Institute sponsors research, service, and educational programs aimed at improving the quality of life of people living in Chicago, its metropolitan region, and other great cities of the world. In carrying out its work the Institute engages closely with government institutions, businesses and their membership organizations, foundations and grant-making agencies, and organizations devoted to the social, cultural, and economic vitality of cities, local communities and neighborhoods. It serves as a research laboratory and meeting place for scholars, policymakers, and citizens who share an interest in finding answers to the question, "What can cities and regions do to make themselves into great places?"

Filed under: Organizations

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Greater New Orleans Community Data Center

The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (GNOCDC) gathers, analyzes and disseminates data to help nonprofit and civic leaders work smarter and more strategically. Operating since 1997, GNOCDC is New Orleans’ sustainable data source – before the storm, throughout recovery and for years to come. A product of Nonprofit Knowledge Works, GNOCDC is one of only two–dozen organizations nationwide chosen to be a National Neighborhood Indicators Partner – local data experts dedicated to community change. GNOCDC is recognized across the country for expertise in New Orleans demographics, disaster recovery indicators and actionable data visualization.

Filed under: Organizations

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HUD Geographic Information Systems Data

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) collaborated with the U.S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey (USGS) and Mexican partners to create a binational Internet-based Geographic Information System (GIS) application for four sister cities along the US/Mexico Border. These include El Paso/Ciudad Juarez, Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras, Douglas/Agua Prieta, and Ambos Nogales. For each of the urban areas, the web mapping applications provide statistical and spatial analysis tools to plan for future growth scenarios, estimate infrastructure development costs for the colonias, and supply binational demographic census data for economic growth models.

Filed under: Data

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HUD Income Limits

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
HUD program income limit data.

Filed under: Data

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HUD Infographics

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
This section of the HUD USER website highlights the housing data available through interactive infographics. In order to show the wealth of information available from HUD USER Data Sets, these infographics seek to present housing data in new and informative ways.

Filed under: Links

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HUD Subprime and Manufactured Home Lender List

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data does not include a field that identifies whether an individual loan application is a subprime or manufactured home loan application. HUD has annually identified a list of lenders who specialize in either subprime or manufactured home lending for over ten years.

Filed under: Data

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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

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Institute for Transportation and Development Policy

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy works with cities worldwide to bring about transport solutions that cut greenhouse gas emissions, reduce poverty, and improve the quality of urban life.

Cities throughout the world, primarily in developing countries, engage ITDP to provide technical advice on improving their transport systems. ITDP uses its know-how to influence policy and raise awareness globally of the role sustainable transport plays in tackling green house gas emissions, poverty and social inequality. This combination of pragmatic delivery with influencing policy and public attitudes defines our approach. Most recently, ITDP has been instrumental in designing and building the best bus rapid transit systems in the world.

Filed under: Organizations

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Institute of Urban Studies

The University of Winnipeg
The Institute of Urban Studies is an independent research arm of the University of Winnipeg. Since 1969 IUS has been both an academic and an applied research center, committed to examining urban development issues in a broad, non-partisan manner. The Institute examines inner city, environmental, Aboriginal and community development issues. In addition to its ongoing involvement in research, IUS brings in visiting scholars, hosts workshops, seminars and conferences, and acts in partnership with other organizations in the community to effect positive change.

Filed under: Organizations

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International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is a Canadian-based, public policy research institute that has a long history of conducting cutting-edge research into sustainable development. The Institute is a non-partisan, charitable organization specializing in policy research, analysis and information exchange. Through its head office in Winnipeg, Manitoba and its branches in Ottawa, Ontario; New York, NY; and Geneva, Switzerland IISD applies human ingenuity to help improve the well being of the world's environment, economy and society.

Filed under: Organizations

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Is an alternative urban food system possible?

New York City has begun to address the inefficiencies in its approach to purchasing and consuming food. The $175 million that city agencies budget per year on food for the elderly, students, and others is not always spent effectively.

March 14, 2011

Filed under: Issues

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Is Philadelphia’s fresh food policy a good model for other cities?

Philadelphia has the second worst ratio of grocery stores to citizens in the country. Residents must often travel long distances to buy food for their families. There is a growing public policy interest in developing a viable solution to the food access issue, as researchers and policy makers increasingly find a relationship between poor food options and diet-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and high-blood pressure.

April 18, 2011

Filed under: Issues

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Journal of Urban Affairs

Urban Affairs Association
Published for the Urban Affairs Association, the journal offers multidisciplinary perspectives and explores issues of relevance to both scholars and practitioners, including: theoretical, conceptual, or methodological approaches to metropolitan and community problems; empirical research that advances the understanding of society; strategies for social change in the urban milieu; innovative urban policies and programs; and issues of current interest to those who work in the field and those who study the urban and regional environment.

Filed under: Journals

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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

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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

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Metropolis

Metropolis is an international network for comparative research and public policy development on migration, diversity, and immigrant integration in cities in Canada and around the world.

The international arm of the Project involves partnerships with policy makers and researchers from over 20 countries, including the United States, most of Western Europe, Israel and Argentina and from the Asia-Pacific region.

Filed under: Organizations

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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

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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

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Multifamily Tax Subsidy Income Limits

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Multifamily Tax Subsidy Projects (MTSP) Income Limits were developed to meet the requirements established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-289) that allows 2007 and 2008 projects to increase over time. The MTSP income Limits are used to determine qualification levels as well as set maximum rental rates for projects funded with tax credits authorized under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and projects financed with tax exempt housing bonds issued to provide qualified residential rental development under section 142 of the Code.

Filed under: Data

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National Archive of Criminal Justice Data

The mission of the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) is to facilitate research in criminal justice and criminology, through the preservation, enhancement, and sharing of computerized data resources; through the production of original research based on archived data; and through specialized training workshops in quantitative analysis of crime and justice data.

Filed under: Data

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National League of Cities

National organization bringing together leaders from 49 state municipal leagues to gather information and share best practices. 

Filed under: Organizations

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National Opinion Research Center

University of Chicago
Understanding our society – and taking action on the issues that confront it – requires insight gained through objective, high-quality social science research. That’s why decision makers and policy leaders turn to NORC at the University of Chicago, an independent research organization known for excellence, innovation, and effective collaboration.  Working with NORC experts, clients obtain the data and analysis needed to drive evidence-based decisions and improve public policy in fields such as health, education, economics, crime, justice, energy, security, and the environment. Dedicated to the public interest for 70 years, NORC has helped a wide range of clients identify and address society’s most urgent challenges

Filed under: Organizations

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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

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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

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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

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Neptis Foundation

The focus of Neptis’s work is the understanding of urban regions– their pasts, present conditions, and futures, in local and global contexts. In particular, Neptis’s interest is the design of urban regions: that is, their use of land, their built environments, and their modes of transportation.

The role of Neptis is to carry out nonpartisan research, data collection, mapping, and publication related to the architecture of urban regions, to improve the quality of debate and decisions. The foundation’s mode of operation is to initiate, support, and publish research by leading academics and other experts on aspects of regional urbanism. Neptis does not represent any special interest group.

Neptis’s program of research has produced over 30 published studies, all of which are available to all interested members of the public in various forms – reports, CDs, downloads, maps, and summaries.

Filed under: Organizations

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NewGeography.com

NewGeography.com is a site devoted to analyzing and discussing the places where individuals live and work. The goal is to learn not only what is happening, but also how individuals, their companies, and communities can best adapt to rapidly changing conditions. The site  welcomes insights on economic development, metropolitan demographics, and community leadership.

Filed under: Links

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Next City

University of Washington
As a public research institution located in the heart of a globally connected metropolitan area, with deep faculty expertise in urban fields, the University of Washington is helping to find informed solutions to the challenges and opportunities presented by the new urban age.   Faculty research is helping urban leaders and citizens across the globe make their cities healthier, safer, and greener.  Partnerships with professionals and community members are making this region a recognized leader in innovative urban design, planning, and governance. Students are learning about cities in the classroom, conducting urban research, and contributing to community well-being through urban service – here in Seattle as well as in other nations and continents.  Events across the university bring leading urban thinkers to campus and engage the wider community in conversations about cities past, present, and future.

Under the leadership of Provost Phyllis Wise, NEXT CITY: Sustainable Urbanization is serving as a university-wide theme between 2009 and 2011 to focus attention on the University of Washington’s urban teaching, research, and outreach activities.  Cities and their people are the emphasis of major university lecture series, seminars, cultural and education events, and public roundtables on the challenges and opportunities of urbanization.   New research initiatives, courses, and partnerships with the community are bringing together Washingtonians and others in discovering more about the twenty-first century’s urban age.  Explore this website, and join the conversation.

Filed under: Organizations

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Penn Institute for Urban Research

University of Pennsylvania
The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) is a university-wide entity dedicated to an increased understanding of cities through cross-disciplinary research, instruction, and civic engagement. As the global human population becomes increasingly urban, understanding cities is vital to informed decision-making and public policy at the local, national, and international levels. Penn IUR is dedicated to developing knowledge in three critical areas: innovative urban development strategies; building the sustainable, 21st-century city; and the role of anchor institutions in urban places. By providing a forum for collaborative scholarship and instruction across Penn’s twelve schools, Penn IUR stimulates research and engages with the world of urban practitioners and policymakers.

Filed under: Organizations

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