Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy
Encyclopedia
The Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy is a joint center at New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....

 and the NYU Wagner School of Public Service. The Furman Center was established in 1994 to create a place where people interested in affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...

 and land use
Land use
Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...

 issues could turn to for factual, objective research and information. Since that time, the Furman Center has become an authority on such matters in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The Furman Center has a three-part mission, including providing objective academic research about land use
Land use
Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...

, real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

, housing
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

 and urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

 affairs, with a particular focus on New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, promoting intense debate and productive discussion among elected, academic, and industry leaders, and presenting essential data and analysis about the state of New York City’s housing and neighborhoods.

Research

The Furman Center is constantly updating its collection of original research on four core issues, including affordable housing, housing finance and foreclosures, land use regulation and neighborhood change.

Affordable Housing

The Furman Center produces a report every year called State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods.

Land Use

The Furman Center also developed a website called, PlanNYC, which is an exhaustive planning and real estate resource that lists dozens and dozens of development and rezoning projects around New York City.

NYCHANIS

New York City Housing and Neighborhood Information System or NYCHANIS is a database for community development organizations, housing organizations, and the general public. It provides Geographical Information Systems information about housing, neighborhood, and demographic conditions in New York City.

SHIP

Subsidized Housing Information Project or SHIP is a database with extensive information on nearly 235,000 units of privately-owned subsidized rental housing in New York City. SHIP was launched on September 8, 2011.

The database details the four types of subsidies for rental units in New York City, including HUD Financing and Insurance, HUD Project-based Rental Assistance, the Mitchell-Lama program and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit is a dollar-for-dollar tax credit in the United States for affordable housing investments. It was created under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that gives incentives for the utilization of private equity in the development of affordable housing aimed at low-income...

 (LIHTC) program. The database shows approximately 11,000 affordable-housing units which could possibly expire in the next few years without renewal because they are part of programs that no longer exist. The database is user-friendly, providing subsidy information to both policy makers and the public, especially New York tenants who reside in subsidized housing units.

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development
New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development is the mayoral agency of New York City responsible for developing and maintaining the city's stock of affordable housing. HPD is headquartered in Lower Manhattan, and includes smaller branch offices in each of the city's five...

 (HPD), the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) engaged in an ongoing, multi-year partnership with the Furman Center to develop SHIP. The database was launched on September 8, 2011.

Impact and Recognition

The Furman Center and the Institute for Education and Social Policy (IESP) received one of nine grants provided through the MacArthur Foundation's $25 million initiative, How Housing Matters to Families and Communities.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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