Downtowns | Penn IUR

Article May 22, 2025 Image of Newark Skating Community Named Winner of the Penn IUR Photo Contest "Gather" Luke Walter's image of skaters in Newark, New Jersey is this winner of the 2025 Penn IUR Photo Contest celebrating place-based connection. Urban Development

Article March 26, 2025 Navigating Uncertainty in Federal Transportation Policy With significant policy reversals, staffing cuts, and the suspension of previously awarded federal funds, cities are being forced to reconsider how they plan, finance, and operate public transportation. State & Local Finance

News March 12, 2025 How COVID-19 Changed the World Penn IUR Co-Director Susan Wachter comments in Knowledge at Wharton on how COVID-19 reshaped cities & real estate—permanently. Urban Development

Fellow in Urban Leadership Enne Kim

Urban Development

Publication June 26, 2024 Reflections on Doom Loop or Boom Loop Work from Home and the Challenges Facing America’s Big Cities Richard Voith David Stanek Susan Wachter State & Local Finance

May 29 2024 Past Event Special Briefing: Doom Loop or Boom Loop—Work from Home and the Challenges Facing US Cities State & Local Finance

Mar 28 2024 Past Event Special Briefing: America's Hot Growth States State & Local Finance

Fellow Anne Fadullon

Founding Principal, MAKE Advisory Services

Urban Development Housing + 1

Podcasts March 30, 2023 Special Briefing: Revitalizing Downtowns by Turning Offices Into Homes With working from home persisting even as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, the Volcker Alliance and Penn Institute for Urban Research hosted an online Special Briefing on Revitalizing Downtowns by Turning Offices Into Homes. Attracting more people back to center cities to live as well as work is the key to increasing street life, bolstering commerce, and preventing further losses in municipal property and sales tax revenues. William Glasgall Susan Wachter Maria Torres-Springer Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh Amy Cotter Heather Long State & Local Finance

Mar 30 2023 Past Event Special Briefing: Revitalizing Downtowns by Turning Offices Into Homes Housing State & Local Finance

Podcasts January 19, 2023 The Future of Downtowns The Volcker Alliance and Penn Institute for Urban Research hosted an online Special Briefing on the Future of Downtowns.Our panel of experts included Howard Cure, director of municipal bond research, Evercore Wealth Management; Steven J. Davis, senior fellow, Hoover Institution, and professor of business and economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Tracy Hadden Loh, fellow, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking, Brookings Metro; Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore professor of real estate and professor of finance, Columbia University's Graduate School of Business; and Romy Varghese, politics editor, Bloomberg News. William Glasgall Susan Wachter Tracy Hadden Loh Howard Cure Steven J. Davis Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh Romy Varghese State & Local Finance

Jan 19 2023 Past Event Special Briefing: The Future of Downtowns State & Local Finance Urban Development

Podcasts November 17, 2022 Special Briefing: Big Cities, Big Challenges The Volcker Alliance and Penn Institute for Urban Research hosted an online Special Briefing: Big Cities, Big Challenges. The discussion focused on addressing inflation that has yet to be controlled and recession fears for big cities while federal COVID-19 budgetary aid will soon expire. Susan Wachter William Glasgall Greg David Shirley Franklin Heather Gillers Farhad Omeyr State & Local Finance

Podcasts February 17, 2022 Watch a Special Briefing on New York City: New Mayor, Federal Aid, Challenges to Recovery The Volcker Alliance and Penn Institute for Urban Research co-hosted a Special Briefing on the challenges New York City faces in 2022 and beyond as its new mayor grapples with COVID-19, street crime, and the possibility of fiscal challenges as federal pandemic aid wanes in coming years. William Glasgall Susan Wachter Eugénie L. Birch Kathryn Wylde Richard Ratvich Ray McGuire Ronnie Lowenstein State & Local Finance

Fellow María Alicia Becdach

MSC. Architecture & Urban Design Columbia University

Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development + 2

Publication April 17, 2020 COVID-19's Effects on Urban Centers COVID-19 is a threat to urban centers, both in the short- and longer-run. Most immediately, the virus is doing serious economic damage to the most urbanized areas around the world. Mark Zandi Urban Development

Faculty Fellow Zhongjie Lin

Associate Professor of City & Regional Planning

Urban Development Rapid Urbanization

Fellow Ira Goldstein

Senior Advisor, Policy Solutions Group, Reinvestment Fund

Urban Development Housing + 2

Emerging Scholar Sisi Liang

Vice Dean, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, China Associate Professor, Tsinghua University, China

Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development

Mayor The Best Job in Politics - cover

Book January 15, 2018 Mayor: The Best Job in Politics Reflecting on his two terms from 2008 to 2016, Nutter offers insights into building coalitions, governing pragmatically, and improving city life through effective public service. Michael A. Nutter Urban Development

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