Vital City is a platform for ideas about how to improve civic life. We publish timely, incisive commentary by the thinkers and practitioners shaping urban policy. We surface data and render it accessible so policymakers and the public alike can better understand how cities work. And we identify evidence-based policies that will make cities safer and more vibrant, then press the case for putting them into practice.
Our ambition takes several forms: our bi-monthly journal explores the big questions of city life; each week, we offer sharp commentary from a broad range of political perspectives on timely topics; our original analyses and interactive tools demystify data on crime and other trends; and we offer deeply researched policy recommendations for urban leaders. Our goal is to help produce cities that are safe, fair, and full of life. All of this work is motivated by our love for New York City, our belief in the power of evidence, and our optimism about the future of cities.
Ideas championed by Vital City have been widely discussed and implemented as public policy. Zohran Mamdani sat down with us to discuss public safety, after declaring himself “quite taken” by our annual crime analysis. We made the case for a federal receiver at Rikers Island; a judge has since appointed one. Our subway safety recommendations drove an exclusive in The New York Times and were adopted in part by the governor and the MTA. Days after we published a set of fixes for the city’s permitting mess, City Hall released a report echoing them. And when reporters dig into the city’s crime numbers, it is often our analyses they build on.
The health of American cities is a matter of concern not just to local residents. In an era of political polarization, the fate of liberal democracy is tied up with the success of New York and other urban areas. At Vital City, our job is to help improve municipal governance by making sure that key policymakers have access to cutting-edge thinking and the best evidence when making decisions. If that work matters to you, join us: read, write, donate.
Vital City is underwritten by the Achelis & Bodman Foundation, Arnold Ventures, Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, Charles H. Revson Foundation, Robin Hood Foundation, Teagle Foundation, Tiger Foundation and Tow Foundation, as well as by contributions from individual donors and readers. We are housed at Columbia Law School, and the Fund for the City of New York serves as our fiscal sponsor.
