Date: Mar 06, 2008

Hofstra-Brookings Institution Conference to Examine Future of Nation's Suburbs and Cities

"MetroNation: Blueprint for American Prosperity"

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – The future growth of the nation’s suburbs and cities will be the topic of a conference at Hofstra University on Thursday, March 27, 2008 from 8 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. at the Hofstra University Club, David S. Mack Hall, North Campus.

"MetroNation: Blueprint for American Prosperity," will be presented by Bruce Katz, vice president and director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings Institution in  Washington, D.C., which is co-sponsoring the conference with Hofstra’s National Center for Suburban Studies (NCSS).

The blueprint, according to NCSS Executive Director Lawrence Levy, "would give the metropolitan areas the rules and the tools to make the most of their economic strengths, grow in environmentally and sustainable ways, and build a strong, diverse, and resilient middle class."

"Hofstra's new relationship with Brookings, a world renowned institution especially known for its groundbreaking work in suburbia, is something the University and the National Center for Suburban Studies can be proud of," said Mr. Levy. "This is good not just for Hofstra's students and faculty but for Long Island and the region's ability to solve our problems and realize our potential." The collaboration is part of an NCSS plan to form a network of strategic research relationships with other institutions dedicated to the study of suburban and metro areas, he said.  

Mr. Katz will deliver his presentation during the morning session, which runs from 8-11 a.m. Among those responding to his ideas will be Long Island Congressman Steve Israel, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano.

Mr. Katz will recap his morning presentation at the afternoon session from 12:45 to 2:10 p.m. Participating in that session are Gerald E. Frug,  Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law, Harvard Law School and author, City Making: Building Communities Without Building Walls; Juliet

Gainsborough, assistant professor, International Studies, Bentley College, author, Fenced Off: The Suburbanization of American Politics; Michael Kruglik, national director of MetroEquity for the Gamaliel Foundation; and Todd Swanstrom, professor of Public Policy Studies, Saint Louis University, co-author, Place Matters: Metropolitics in the Twenty-first Century and editor, The St. Louis Metropolitan Research Exchange; and Lisa Tyson, executive director, Long Island Progressive Coalition.

The conference is part of Educate ’08, Hofstra’s unprecedented educational effort that engages not only students and faculty but also the public in a year-long series of conferences, events and lectures leading up the presidential debate at Hofstra on October 15, 2008.

Mr. Katz regularly advises national, state, regional and municipal leaders on policy reforms that advance the competitiveness of metropolitan areas. He is an expert on community reinvestment, demographic trends, economic development, government reform, housing, poverty, state and local policy, social policy, transportation reform, urban and metropolitan policy, urban and regional politics, and welfare reform.

Currently a visiting professor at the , London School of Economics, Mr. Katz has served as chief of staff, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (1993-96); staff director, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs (1992-93); senior counsel, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs (1987-92); and associate, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. A winner of the 12th Annual Heinz Award in Public Policy, he was recognized for championing creative solutions for metropolitan reshaping and restoration. He received his B.A. from Brown University in 1981 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1985.
 
The conference is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register for this conference, contact Ina Katz at ina.katz@hofstra.edu or (516) 463-9939. A complimentary breakfast will be served.

The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra is a nonpartisan research institution dedicated to promoting academically rigorous study of suburbia’s problems, as well as promise.  The center studies a broad range of issues from local and national perspectives.  The tasks of identifying, analyzing and solving the problems of suburbia are essential for the health of the country, and central to the center’s mission.

Created in 1996, the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program provides decision makers with cutting-edge research and policy ideas for improving the health and prosperity of cities and metropolitan areas.  The Brookings Institution believes that the United States is a metropolitan nation, and the metropolitan areas (and the cities and suburbs within them) are the drivers of our economy, and that the ability of the U.S. to compete globally and to meet the great economic, environmental, and social challenges of the 21st century rests largely on the vitality and prosperity of the nation’s major cities and metropolitan areas. Their work is designed to help these metro areas prosper and grow in robust, inclusive, and sustainable ways.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 145 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence, cutting edge technology, extensive library resources, internships and special educational programs that appeal to their interests and abilities