3/21/2014

On March 21, 2014 Richard Florida, Paul Romer, and Robert Sampson discussed the Challenge of the City. Topics covered include Sampson’s work on the role of neighborhood effects in the concentration of advantage and disadvantage in the same city. The discussants also covered the role that the reduction in violent crime plays in urban transformation. They also discussed the various approaches to the city taken by different disciplines in the social sciences and, specifically, about the notion of approaching the city through Pasteur’s Quadrant — the idea that the way for academics to deepen their fundamental understanding of cities is to engage with real urban problems. This event was co-sponsored by the Marron Institute and NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies.