Urban Policy Initiative

The Harris School launched this urban policy initiative to better understand the determinants of urban density and its consequences.

These include the opportunities for increased social and economic activity, but also the challenges in transportation, governance, and residential segregation, as well as all of the attendant problems in the areas of public health, education, violence, and more. The initiative aims to organize urban policy studies already in progress at the Harris School and to introduce new activities, in concert with the diverse disciplinary resources of the University. Building such a program requires both relevant faculty members and student programming. The Harris School is working to expand the faculty with an emphasis on individuals whose work helps illuminate urban density and who aspire to understand explanations (and potential remedies) for the specific social problems concentrated in urban areas. The urban policy initiative will also put new emphasis on training students to help improve urban life as policy leaders.