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, and embodies the Institute’s ongoing commitment to thought leadership and applied practice in these rapidly evolving industries.
“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.
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.
“More than ever before, we must coexist in an urban world—living, working, and creating cities,” said Pedigo. “It is our hope that the insights uncovered by the Urban Lab and its fellows can help to guide those working in our cities to make them stronger and more sustainable for the future.”
