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NYU Schack launches Urban Lab research initiative

The NYU School of Professional Studies (NYUSPS) Schack Institute of Real Estate has launched the

The NYU School of Professional Studies (NYUSPS) Schack Institute of Real Estate has launched the NYUSPS Urban Lab, a new research and engagement initiative that will explore the relationship between real estate and cities as centers of economic activity and innovation.

The launch of the Lab comes just before the 50th Anniversary of the Schack Institute’s establishment as NYU’s home for teaching and applied research in the fields of real estate and construction management.

“The work of the NYUSPS Urban Lab will shape the practice of real estate and urban development, guide the policy debate, and broaden the NYUSPS Schack Institute of Real Estate’s leadership role at the intersection of urbanism and real estate,” stated Sam Chandan, PhD FRICS, Larry & Klara Silverstein Chair in Real Estate Development and Investment, and associate dean of the NYU School of Professional Studies Schack Institute of Real Estate.

Directed by Steven Pedigo, NYUSPS Schack Institute clinical assistant professor, the Lab will be active on several fronts.

Collaborating with real estate investors and developers, city officials and practitioners, and faculty members and students across NYU and the NYU School of Professional Studies, it will develop applied research insights and case studies, convene leading thinkers and practitioners to discuss the challenges facing the real estate industry and cities, and offer a suite of professional development courses and programs for city builders, economic development practitioners, and real estate professionals.

“Through the NYUSPS Urban Lab, the NYU School of Professional Studies and its Schack Institute of Real Estate are uniquely positioned to play a leading role in developing an urban agenda, which focuses on the critical socio-economic policies that are requisite to building and maintaining creative and resilient cities now and in the future,” asserted Dennis Di Lorenzo, Harvey J. Stedman dean of the NYU School of Professional Studies.

Following a soft launch in Fall 2016, the NYUSPS Urban Lab hosted four events centered on issues affecting urban development now and in the future.

The Urban Lab’s formal kick-off event, “Empowering Cities Under the New Administration,” was held on February 2 and featured Richard Florida; Jonathan Haidt, Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at the NYU Stern School of Business; and Benjamin Barber, founder and president of the Global Parliament of Mayors. The panelists debated the challenges cities face in engaging with the new administration and how they can support urban innovation in the context of a more complex political environment.

In 2017, the Lab will launch an Urban Fellows program comprised of leading researchers, real estate investors and developers, civic leaders, and economic development practitioners from across the United States and abroad. Florida has been named the first Urban Lab Distinguished Fellow.

To learn more about the Urban Lab, please visit: sps.nyu.edu/urbanlab.

NYU Schack launches Urban Lab research initiative : Real Estate Weekly