Based at NYU Tandon in downtown Brooklyn, the Center for Urban Science + Progress (CUSP) applies engineering, data analysis and social science to urban challenges. Founded through a partnership between New York University and the City of New York, it combines research, education and entrepreneurial initiatives, with the stated aim of improving quality of life in cities through more inclusive, equitable and sustainable practices.1
CUSP’s work spans urban health, infrastructure and environmental concerns. Its approach brings together sensing technologies to collect information about city conditions, informatics to analyze data, and modelling to explore possible futures and inform policy decisions.1 New York City serves as a living laboratory, while the center’s research addresses issues including public health, pollution, crime, city services and local-government decision-making.56
Education is another part of its remit. CUSP offers a Master of Science in Urban Data Science and a doctoral track in Urban Science, and provides students with practical research opportunities, including capstone projects and hackathons.1 It also works with city agencies, businesses, community organizations and nonprofits on urban challenges.1
CUSP’s founding director was physicist Steven E. Koonin, appointed in 2012; Institute Professor Maurizio Porfiri is its current director.28 The center’s address is 370 Jay Street, 13th Floor, Brooklyn.4 Its research and educational work is oriented toward urban communities globally, though New York City is its principal laboratory.13