30 Years of Evidence, Impact, and Training Leaders

On February 4th, the NYU Furman Center celebrated its 30th anniversary—marking three decades of research, collaboration, and a steadfast commitment to understanding how housing shapes lives and communities.

The NYU Furman Center was founded in 1995 by Michael Schill, a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at NYU Law School and President Emeritus of Northwestern University. Our center is committed to rigorous standards of interdisciplinary empirical and legal research about housing, land use, real estate, and urban affairs. 

“When the Furman Center was created in 1995, the goal was to create an institution that did policy-relevant, interdisciplinary research of the highest academic quality and made that research available to and usable by housing advocates, the real estate industry, and policymakers in New York and all over the world,” said Schill. “Under extraordinary leadership through the years, it has achieved that ambition and become one of the top urban research centers in the nation.”

Led by our three Faculty Directors, Vicki Been, Judge Edward Weinfeld Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, Ingrid Gould Ellen, Paulette Goddard Professor of Urban Policy and Planning at NYU Wagner School of Public Service, and Katherine O’Regan, Professor of Public Policy and Planning at NYU Wagner School of Public Service, our footprint now extends from New York City to small and midsize cities nationwide.

“We are dedicated to ensuring our research and policy analysis translate into immediate, practical tools for decision-makers,” said Been. “It is rewarding to see our work shape housing policy and a privilege to train our students and fellows to produce research that is directly relevant to the complex challenges of the day.”

Through initiatives like the Housing Solutions Lab, the NYU Furman Center informs housing reforms, supports federal and local programs, and helps cities design evidence-based solutions.

Our mission is rooted in four core pillars:

• Advancing housing policy through rigorous research and analysis.
• Developing accessible data tools and resources for public use.
• Training the next generation of housing policy leaders.
• Fostering dialogue between policymakers, practitioners, and the communities they serve.

“Training the next generation of urban policy leaders is central to our academic mission,” said O’Regan. “Our greatest strength—and my greatest personal reward—are the brilliant cohorts of students who drive our work and remain lifelong members of the Furman Center family.”

“As Faculty Directors, we are most proud of the amazing work that our alumni do and the community the Furman Center has built—both on campus and across the urban policy landscape,” said Ellen. “We take immense pride in the enduring bond of our network; as the saying goes, ‘Once a Furmaner, always a Furmaner!’”