Hofstra rededicated its newly expanded National Center for Suburban Studies (NCSS) last fall to coincide with the 60th anniversary of nearby Levittown, the nation's first suburb, and the appointment of a new executive director and academic director.
The NCSS is a non-partisan research institution dedicated to promoting objective, academically rigorous study of suburbia's problems, as well as its promise. The suburbs have emerged as the nexus of dynamic demographic, social, economic and environmental change in New York and throughout the United States. The tasks of identifying, analyzing and solving the problems of suburbia are essential for the health of the country—and central to the National Center's mission.
Rooted in the laboratory of Long Island's diverse and aging suburbs, the NCSS studies a broad range of issues from local and national perspectives and, whenever possible, collaborates with researchers at other respected institutions.
In March, the NCSS teamed with the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., to present a daylong conference on the future growth of the nation's suburbs and cities. "MetroNation: Blueprint for American Prosperity," presented by Bruce Katz, vice president and director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., is a blueprint that gives 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.
The NCSS is headed by Executive Director Lawrence C. Levy, who came to Hofstra following a 30-year career as a reporter, editorial writer and columnist in which he specialized in suburban politics, education, taxation, housing and other key issues.
A co-partner in shaping the NCSS mission and priorities, Academic Director Christopher Niedt brings to the NCSS a passion for suburban studies and strong academic credentials earned as a researcher, writer and teacher at the University of California, Berkeley, where he conducted the research for his Ph.D. in geography. He has special expertise in fields of labor and housing and has conducted research on the politics of class, racial and geographic inequities in suburban communities.
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