logo
Reviving the Middle Class Dream in NYC

Report - February 2009

Reviving the Middle Class Dream in NYC

This major report by the Center for an Urban Future, titled "Reviving the City of Aspiration," concludes that New York’s longstanding legacy as a place that both sustained a large middle class and elevated countless people from poorer backgrounds into the middle class is now in serious jeopardy.

by Jonathan Bowles, Joel Kotkin and David Giles

Tags: economic growth middle class community colleges higher education human capital

Click here to read the full report (PDF).

Related Press


New York Flight

WNYC, by Arun Venugopal, February 05, 2009

Commute Times in Weiner Land Lag as Bus Ridership Booms

StreetsBlog, by Brad Aaron, February 06, 2009

CEO Compensation & Public Anger

CNBC Reports, February 11, 2009

Study: Middle Class In NYC = Six Figure Income

WCBS-TV, by Hazel Sanchez, February 07, 2009

Breaking the Feast or Famine Tax Cycle

Gotham Gazette, by Mae Watson Grote, April 06, 2009

We won’t live like sardines in a tin

New York Daily News, by Adrienne Leslie, October 16, 2009

The Lost Generation: NYC losing young people to cheaper cities

amNY, by Sheila Anne Feeney, January 13, 2011

To Live Like A Middle Class Citizen In NYC, You Have To Make At Least $80,000

Business Insider, by Alyson Shontell, January 20, 2013

City to Middle Class: Just Not That Into You

The Real Estate Blog/New York Observer, by Oliver Haydock, February 05, 2009

A blue-collar boro shifts gears

New York Daily News, by Lisa L. Colangelo, February 06, 2009

You need more green to live in Queens

Queens Times Ledger, by Philip Newman, February 11, 2009

NYC, London vie for the bottom

Crain's New York Business, by Daniel Massey, February 08, 2009

New York City’s Middle Class Is Voting With Their Feet

New York Post, by Michael Gray, July 11, 2009

New York unaffordable

Metro, by Carly Baldwin, October 27, 2009

Manhattanites at any cost: What some will do to stay on the island

amNY, by Sheila Anne Feeney, April 03, 2011

Creating Room for Middle Class in New York City Focus of Council Speaker

Epoch Times, by Zachary Stieber, February 11, 2013

City faces middle-class exodus

Crain's New York Business, by Daniel Massey, February 05, 2009

Questioning the Future for the Middle Class

The New York Times City Room Blog, by Sewell Chan, February 06, 2009

Middle class’ cost challenge

New York Daily News, by Lisa Colangelo, February 11, 2009

Watch your wallets

Newsday, February 08, 2009

Would You Stand on Planes for Cheaper Tickets?

The Atlantic Online, by Derek Thompson, July 22, 2009

Blue State Exodus

Forbes, by Joel Kotkin, November 03, 2009

Keeping Diversity as NYC Develops

The Epoch Times, by Tara MacIsaac, May 08, 2011

Weiner’s Most Dangerous Fetish?

The Brooklyn Rail, by Theodore Hamm, July 26, 2013

Time to Get Tough

New York Post, February 06, 2009

$50K In Houston Equals $123K in NYC, Study Finds

Gothamist, by John Del Signore, February 06, 2009

Op-Ed: A State Grab on NYC Hou$ing

New York Post, by William C. Thompson, February 17, 2009

Report: More U.S.- born residents moving off Staten Island than moving on

Staten Island Advance, by Peter N. Spencer, February 08, 2009

Mayor Plans Millions More to Aid Community Colleges

The New York Times, by Javier C. Hernandez, August 14, 2009

Popping the question: Do we stay on Staten Island or do we go?

Staten Island Advance, by Elise G. McIntosh, November 15, 2009

Why New York’s future is fleeing

New York Post, by Fred Siegel, May 23, 2011

How Mike’s data boosted Bill

New York Daily News, by Harry Siegel, January 01, 2014

Study: Canarsie workers must deal with one of nation’s longest commutes

New York Daily News, by Jeff Wilkins, February 06, 2009

You Try to Live on 500K in This Town

The New York Times, by Allen Salkin, February 06, 2009

Bloomberg: Wrong Mayor, Wrong City, Wrong Time

The Nation - Blog, by Richard Kim, February 18, 2009

Middle Class Blues in a City of Extremes

City Limits, by David Giles, February 09, 2009

Squeezed on all sides

New York Daily News, by Jonathan Bowles, August 01, 2010

Goodbye, New York

City Journal, by Fred Siegel, May 24, 2011

No, New York City is not losing its soul

New York Daily News, by Francis Marrone, May 31, 2015

New York Should End Its Obsession With Manhattan

Forbes, by Joel Kotkin, February 03, 2009

Study: Middle Class Drop

Metro, by Amy Zimmer, February 06, 2009

Shocking News: The Middle Class Has It a Lot Harder Here Than Anywhere Else

New York Magazine/Daily Intel Blog, by Chris Rovzar, February 06, 2009

Kicking the middle class

Metro NY, by Neil deMause, February 23, 2009

NYC’s Ailing Middle: High Costs Prompting Exodus

New York Post, by Fred Siegel, February 10, 2009

Good News: More New York Jobs! Bad News: They Pay $16-$20K

The Village Voice Blog, by Roy Edroso, October 14, 2009

Spinning It Bloomberg Style

Huffington Post, by Lia Petridis Maiello, August 09, 2010

Will Affordable Housing Plan Leave Middle Class New Yorkers Out in the Cold?

Metro Focus, by Lindsay Armstrong, July 20, 2012

Middle class losing out in big cities

CNN International, by Harry Siegel, August 19, 2015

Middle Class Being Squeezed Out Of The City, Study Finds

New York 1, February 05, 2009

It’s Tough Out There for a Middle-Class New Yorker

Brownstoner, February 06, 2009

Report: NYC Most Expensive City To Live In, Hands Down

WPIX, by Mary Schultz, February 06, 2009

Urban Inequality Could Get Worse

Forbes.com, by Joel Kotkin, March 03, 2009

New Cheap City!

New York Observer, by Oliver Haydock, February 09, 2009

The Mayor Who Added Jobs, and Lost Some, Too

The New York Times, by Christine Haughney, October 14, 2009

Why taxes should be adjusted for geographic cost of living

Christian Science Monitor, by Shannon Biggs, November 19, 2010

Decline of middle class not Obama’s fault

CNN, by LZ Granderson, September 05, 2012

Buddy can you spare $2m? New York’s housing crisis

BBC News, by Clive Coleman, September 08, 2015

New York City Datapoint of the Day

Portfolio Market Movers Blog, by Felix Salmon, February 05, 2009

Facing Crunch, NYC’s Middle Class Flees

CBS News, February 06, 2009

Big Apple Living Comes at a Big Price

1010 WINS, February 06, 2009

Now, recession hits New Yorkers

NDTV, March 03, 2009

Away from the Gated Community

National Review Online, by Ramesh Ponnuru & Reihan Salam, March 09, 2009

Can Bloomberg’s ‘Luxury’ City Survive?

The Wall Street Journal, by Fred Siegel and Harry Siegel, October 15, 2009

Market seesaws toward wealthy buyers

The Real Deal, by Candace Taylor, January 01, 2011

What Is Middle-Class in Manhattan?

New York Times, by Amy O'Leary, January 18, 2013

Immigrants embrace Southern living

Charlotte Observer, by Franco Ordo, September 20, 2009