About Us

Founded in 2012, CLiME is a multidisciplinary research and advocacy center based in the Rutgers Law School (Newark) and committed to public scholarship about the law and policy of structural inequality. As one of the Rutgers University-Newark chancellor centers, we proudly uphold the principles of the anchor mission—excellence, local collaboration, civic engagement and public impact.

MISSION

CLiME is committed to studying the role of law and policy in encouraging or inhibiting opportunity based on place. Our non-partisan efforts are designed to promote more equitable approaches to public law and policy amid rapid demographic change, shrinking government resources and enduring racial and economic divides.

Our projects begin from the assumption that where people live determines a lot about their opportunities, because of the resources, rules and practices of the dominant institutions around them. Inequality of resources among municipalities—for instance, in school funding or housing finance—is strongly correlated with inequality or resident outcomes, such as college attendance, and homeownership wealth. Inequalities between places correspond to inequalities in resident life chances. The theory of metropolitan equity entails the study of these disparities and the processes needed to remedy them.

The major institutions most associated with CLiME expertise are housing law and policy, local government and economic development, with a minor emphasis on law enforcement, public health and education. As a law center, we maintain a constant focus on civil rights. We seek evidence-based solutions that balance equity and efficiency with democratic ideals of civic participation and a strong public purpose.

Our work spans for fields:

Public Scholarship (analytical reports, articles, studies, briefs)
Collaborative Engagement (joint initiatives with local organizations, governments, philanthropy and other academic entities).
Direct Project Development (placemaking and community planning efforts, project advisory roles)
Public Information Instruments (the What To Do series, podcasts, blogposts, conferences, and webinars)

We are the work of our full-time staff, our affiliated faculty, our student fellows from the law school, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, other units across Rutgers University, research contractors and our diverse colleagues from a range of organizations and other academic ins