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Mapping the Future

Mapping the Future investigates and explains the history, economics, politics and policies that shape the way land is used in the city of New York and beyond. It is supported by the Ford Foundation and the Neighborhoods First Fund.

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Must Reads

Opinion: Why We Need Better Place-Based Economic Development Policies

"Our elected leaders can bring about meaningful improvement in the economies of particular places through policies that address what we’ve learned from the shortcomings of the Opportunity Zone incentive and other similar laws."
By Edward De Barbieri
Opinion: NYC’s Rebounding Rents Shine Light on Long-Standing Crisis

"Two years into the pandemic, the city is moving ahead with a return to 'normal,' but the pre-pandemic real estate market’s 'normal' is not something to which we should aspire to."
By Leslie Vasquez, Kimberly Pereyra Monero and Landry Haarmann
NYC Aims to Restaff Wiped-Out Housing Discrimination Unit as Voucher Values Rise

The budget plan proposes moving six staffers from the Human Resources Administration to the Source of Income (SOI) discrimination unit at the Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), which had zero attorneys working on those cases after its final employee departed last month following years of employee exits and unfilled vacancies, City Limits previously reported.
By David Brand
City’s Homeless Services Head Hails Moves Out of Subway, But Won’t Say How Many Stay in Shelter

More than 700 people staying on trains or at end-of-line stations accepted placement in a temporary shelter in the first two months of Adams’ so-called “Subway Safety Plan,” according to agency data, but Jenkins would not say how many stick around.
By David Brand
17 Units Here. 8,555 There. See Where NYC Builds Its Affordable Housing

The 17th council district in The Bronx saw 8,550 new affordable units built since 2014, while district 23 in Queens saw just 17.
By David Brand
‘Bill of Rights’ Law for NYC Supportive Housing Tenants Went Into Effect Last Week, But Word Isn’t Getting Out

While the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is notifying city-contracted supportive housing providers of their requirements under the new law, the same isn't happening for those contracted primarily through the state, despite the fact that the bill specified it would apply to "every provider" in the city.
By Jeanmarie Evelly
NYC’s Latest Vacancy Survey is Bad News for Affordable Apartment-Seekers

The number of available apartments for low- and middle- income New Yorkers reached a 30-year low in 2021, according to the results of a vacancy survey used to determine whether rent stabilization laws will remain in place in the five boroughs.
By David Brand
Opinion: NYC’s Buildings and Streets Fail to Meet the Challenges of Climate Change

“The city is still tinkering with designs that started to seem old more than a decade ago.
By John Massengale

The Neighborhoods

Click on a neighborhood to get news, documents, opinions and videos about that community.

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Gowanus

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Long Island City

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Upper West Side

Mapping the Future: Opinion

Opinion: For Youth Aging Out of Foster Care, Housing Support is Crucial

"Having housing and a place to call home gives one hope and stability, which is essential, especially when you grew up in a system that gave you neither."
By Jeremiah Perez-Torres
Opinion: NYC’s Human Service Workers Deserve Just Pay in This Year’s Budget

“The very forces contributing to a worsening housing emergency are also impacting the workers tasked with solving that crisis. Those who work to find permanent and safe apartments for the housing-insecure and homeless should not find themselves at risk of eviction and displacement.”
By Myung Lee
Opinion: NYC Must Prioritize Housing Our Most Vulnerable Families

"For far too long, New York’s leaders have focused on stemming the tide of homelessness, and then struggling to meet that low bar. Mayor Eric Adams can change this with a visionary housing and homelessness plan and a budget to match."
By Nicole Branca and Pierina Ana Sanchez
Opinion: NYC Communities of Color Face Increased Eviction Filings, Displacement Risk, and Soaring Unaffordable Rents

ANHD’s 2022 Housing Risk Chart highlights the compounding pressures, and risks, to affordable housing in dozens of neighborhoods. Indicators of speculation, gentrification, and displacement pressure are distributed throughout the city and show the necessity of tenant and homeowner counseling and support programs that defend affordability in every neighborhood.
By Barika Williams
Opinion: Supportive Housing Can Help Break the Cycle Between Homelessness and Incarceration

"Deeply affordable housing with supportive services for this population has a proven track record of success and hits all the Adams administration's goals of efficiency, smart government, addressing problems at their root, and getting things done."
By Patricia Hernandez, Bea De la Torre, JoAnne Page and Cynthia Stuart