The Center for Cities & Schools: Connecting Research and Policy Agendas

This article discusses an emerging policy and research agenda; systemati- cally linking quality schools with quality cities. There is an historic discon- nect between cities and public education. To dismantle this disconnect, the Center for Cities & Schools was established in 2004, by the Institute of Urban and Regional Development (IURD) at the University of California, Berkeley. The Center holds that high-quality education is a critical compo- nent of broader city and metropolitan policy-making and that invigorating public education and revitalizing neighborhoods are goals that can, and should, be accomplished in tandem. To contextualize the issues and the role of the Center, this paper provides a transcript and discussion of the two keynote addresses at the Center’s fall 2004 symposium, which featured Bruce Katz, a Vice President at the Brookings Institution and founding Director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, and Dr. Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District.