The J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures

What The J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures does

The J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures is an academic applied research center housed within the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York (CCNY), located in Harlem, New York. Formally established in 2012 by the CCNY Board of Trustees and tracing its lineage to ARCH (Architects Renewal Committee of Harlem, founded 1967), the Center focuses on spatial and social justice in the built environment. It serves community boards, neighborhood alliances, civic organizations, government agencies (NYC HPD, DOT, Manhattan Borough President's Office), and academic collaborators, with primary work concentrated in Harlem and an international extension into Accra, Ghana.

The Center's work is organized around five initiatives: Affordable Housing Supply, Equity & Spatial Economics, Data Responsive Urbanism & Development, Shared Spatial Governance, and Resiliency and Stewardship of Public Space. Discrete projects include the Equitable Development Index (EDI), a web-based platform launched in July 2024 that algorithmically scores land-use proposals against affordability, displacement, environmental, and community benefit criteria; the Harlem Small Business Study, which uses proprietary consumer transactional data from the J.P. Morgan Chase Institute to assess small business resilience post-COVID; Unlocking Air, a reparative design strategy proposing smaller-scale air rights transfers to add 2-4 stories of affordable density; Ako Adjei Park in Ghana; and the Harry Belafonte Center for Social Justice repurposing the former Lincoln Correctional Facility. Two research labs (Lab for Land Studies and Speculative Ecologies Lab) support coursework and independent research.

The Center does not sell products or services. Its activities are funded through grants and donations from a diversified base of philanthropic supporters including J.P. Morgan (principal funder and data partner), the National Endowment for the Arts, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Graham Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Moxie Foundation, and West Harlem Development Corporation. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. Distribution of outputs occurs through publications, community presentations, symposia, and academic partnerships. The team comprises approximately 10 staff led by Director Shawn Rickenbacker and Assistant Director Lizzie MacWillie, supported by senior researchers, lab leaders, student researchers, and an advisory board spanning MIT Urban Studies, McKinsey, WXY, Lowenstein Sandler, Bloomberg Associates, and Lord Cultural Resources.

Name

The J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures

Legal name

The J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures

Website

https://jmbondcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures is an academic applied research center at City College of New York's Spitzer School of Architecture that conducts data-driven research on spatial equity, affordable housing, and equitable urban development, serving Harlem community organizations, NYC government agencies, and academic partners through grants and philanthropic funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Research and Policy Analysis

NAICS

Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG, Place-Based Initiatives) (BPAIANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC), Urban & Regional Planning (Land Use, Zoning, Master Planning) (BPAIANAD)

Keywords

• Urban research center
• Affordable housing research
• Equitable development analysis
• Spatial justice research
• Urban planning data

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures is a university-affiliated applied research center that conducts interdisciplinary research on spatial and social justice in the built environment, organized around five initiatives (Affordable Housing Supply, Equity & Spatial Economics, Data Responsive Urbanism & Development, Shared Spatial Governance, and Resiliency and Stewardship of Public Space). Its deliverables include research projects, policy memos, the web-based Equitable Development Index (EDI) scoring platform, and academic events, with outputs aimed at community organizations, NYC government agencies, and academic partners.

Product overview

The J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures is a research center at the City College of New York's Spitzer School of Architecture, not a product company. It offers a portfolio of research initiatives (Affordable Housing Supply, Equity & Spatial Economics, Data Responsive Urbanism & Development, Shared Spatial Governance, and Resiliency and Stewardship of Public Space) that guide discrete research projects including the Equitable Development Index (a web-based algorithmic scoring platform for land use evaluation), the Harlem Small Business Study (using consumer transactional data), Unlocking Air (air rights transfer research), and international projects like Ako Adjei Park in Ghana. The Center also operates two research labs (Lab for Land Studies, Speculative Ecologies Lab) and hosts events such as the ARCH @ 60 Symposium.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Affordable Housing Supply Initiative

Quantifiable outcome

• Unlocking Air project has potential to yield over 10,000 residential units, 85% affordable to Harlem's actual income
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Spitzer School of ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution within City College of New York where the Bond Center is located. Faculty collaboration on research projects.
• David Brody Bond Architects and PlannerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm partner contributing to projects including the Ako Adjei Park collaboration in Accra, Ghana.
• Manhattan Borough President's OfficemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner for urban development initiatives and policy work in Manhattan.
• New York City Department of Housing Preservation & DevelopmentmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity agency partner for affordable housing research and policy initiatives.
• New York City Department of TransportationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity agency partner for shared spatial governance and public space initiatives.
• The City of New York Community Board 9coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentral partner for the Equitable Development Index pilot project and various land use and housing initiatives covering Central and West Harlem.
• Colin Powell School for Civic and Global LeadershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCNY school contributing faculty and research collaboration, particularly for the Harlem Small Business Study.
• The Grove School of EngineeringminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCNY engineering school providing technical expertise for data science and urban informatics research.
• A Philip Randolph Square Neighborhood AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partner for neighborhood-based urban development initiatives.
• Harlem Sculpture GardensminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts organization partner for cultural preservation and public space initiatives in Harlem.
• Impact Hub AccraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner for the Ako Adjei Park project in Ghana, providing development coordination.
• Lowenstein Sandler LLPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaw firm providing legal counsel and support for international development projects including the Ako Adjei Park collaboration.

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Regional Plan Association: NYC-based independent urban planning organization producing research and policy recommendations on land use, housing, and regional development. Comparable as a planning research organization serving the same tri-state region.
• Pratt Center for Community Development: Brooklyn-based university-affiliated center (within Pratt Institute) focused on equitable economic and community development in NYC. Closely comparable mission, NYC geography, and research-to-policy operating model.
• MIT Urban Risk Lab: MIT-based research lab applying data-driven methods to urban resilience and equity. Comparable as an academic research lab combining urban analytics, community partnership, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy: NYU-based research center producing data-driven analysis of housing, neighborhoods, and urban policy in NYC. Directly comparable as an academic housing/urban-policy research shop with policy-influence ambitions.
• MIT Community Innovators Lab (CoLab): MIT-based center supporting community-led development through research, teaching, and partnerships. Comparable as an academic center explicitly connecting community organizing, design, and policy research.

Broad incumbents

• Urban Institute: Large DC-based economic and social policy research organization covering housing, neighborhoods, and community development. Comparable as a data-driven urban research entity, though far larger and federally connected.
• Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: National policy research organization focused on land use, housing affordability, and urban planning. Comparable as a research-to-policy organization, but operating nationally with a permanent endowment.
• Enterprise Community Partners: Large national nonprofit focused on affordable housing and community development finance. Broader in scale and capital deployment, but operates in the same affordable housing and equitable development space.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): National community development financial institution with deep NYC footprint. Comparable in mission (equitable community development) but operates at far larger scale with capital deployment.

Emerging players

• Center for Community Progress: National nonprofit focused on equitable revitalization and land use at the neighborhood level. Comparable mission with focus on vacant/underutilized land and community benefit frameworks.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/jmbondcenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jmbondcenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures