New York City

As the 2000 presidential race gains momentum, a faculty working group at Columbia University has formed to scrutinize what the candidates are saying about cities when they issue broad national policy statements.

The 25-member urban impact consortium was organized in the recognition that although the presidential candidates talk little about the challenges specific to urban America, their broader policy pronoucements will impact in major ways the 80 percent of Americans who live in or near cities.

"When candidates announce their broad policy initiatives, rarely is reference made to the way these broader policies coalesce to shape a hidden urban agenda," said Professor Mark Gordon of the School of International and Public Affairs, who is coordinating the effort. "But each time presidential candidates discuss poverty, crime, health care, the environment or other important issues, what they are doing is proposing urban policy as well."

The consortium is organized through the Center for Urban Research and Policy at the School of International and Public Affairs and co-sponsored by the Institute for Social and Economic Theory and Research.

Members of the consortium will review the candidates' stated positions on a wide range of national issues, including crime, gun control, school vouchers, health care, and proposals to restructure Medicare and Medicaid, assessing how each contender's positions will impact urban areas.

The nonpartisan group will analyze the candidates' proposals and not their records on matters of interest to urban voters.

"We will present information and analysis, not endorse candidates or positions," the group said in a statement. "We believe that the public debate would be enriched by candid discussion of the ways in which broader national policies can be expected to impact urban areas."

Consortium members include public policy experts from a wide range of academic fields, including public health, law, education, social work and urban planning. Several are among the most well-regarded members of Columbia's faculty.

Lisa Anderson, Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, said: "By analyzing these issues from an urban standpoint, this working group on urban affairs at Columbia is performing an important public service in the 2000 presidential campaign."

Over the coming months, the consortium will issue a series of Urban Impact Statements, each one written by an expert in a specific area of urban affairs. The statements will look at what each candidate's policies really mean for cities. Throughout the campaign, the consortium will release periodic updated statements analyzing the candidates' positions as they are refined or changed.

To read the full Urban Impact Statement from the Interdisciplinary Working Group and a list of participating faculty, click here.

Professor Mark Gordon, the coordinator, may be reached at (212) 854-4966 or mcg12@columbia.edu.