NYU Urban Lab is a Center for learning and teaching at the intersection of real estate and social economics.

The NYU Urban Lab produces research, hosts events, and teaches classes that blend the best information we have from mass media, industry associations and academia into a consumable format to forward the advancement of best in class real estate in cities.

Focus Areas:

  • Housing Affordability
  • Net Zero Cities
  • Culture Led Development
  • Public Private Partnerships

We also study global sustainable development, using the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 and the UN-Habitat human settlements framework.

Why Urban?

Over 56% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, with that projected to rise to 70% by 2050, largely driven by Africa’s rapid urbanization. Cities contain half of the world’s population but produce the lion’s share of economic activity (80%). This comes at a cost as cities also produce negative externalities including 70% of global emissions, which is mostly driven by buildings and transportation systems. Urban areas also create the social economics of agglomeration, in which informal groups of citizens and formalized organizations alike share resources to achieve the equivalent gains of economies of scale – but through cooperation. Cities consistently are engines for upward mobility (with informal settlements or ‘slums’ as the incubator) and for cultural evolution, business invention, and the pushing forward of the boundaries of knowledge through anchor institutions such as universities and research hospitals. 

Why NYU SPS?

NYU Urban Lab is a part of NYU School of Professional Studies (SPS). SPS was founded in 1934 in response to the Great Depression to retrain job seekers to meet the challenges of the future of work, even as it also trained social workers to make the world a better place. In the 1930’s, SPS also created Centers of learning, such as the Washington Square Writers Center and the Center for Graphic Design. NYU Urban Lab was founded in 2018 by urbanist and writer Richard Florida. Matthew Kwatinetz was named Director of NYU Urban Lab in 2020. 

Contact us today to get involved in helping to understand and shape the future of the global urban landscape.