Paterson, NJ

City of Learning

“Through an ambitious plan called the City of Learning, Paterson, a city of 170,000, is giving public high school students not only the tools to understand its urban problems, but also the chance to solve them.

Anticipating $500 million to $800 million in state money to build new school facilities, Dr. Edwin Duroy, the state-appointed superintendent of schools, realized that improving schools was meaningless if the struggling city was ignored. His budget represented Paterson's largest potential capital investment. Why not use it to rescue the schools and try rehabilitating the city at the same time? And put students at the center of the equation by teaching them city planning -- at school.

The opportunity demanded vision. Dr. Duroy invited urban designers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with experience in school districts from Berkeley, Calif., to Washington, D.C., to develop a master plan for Paterson's schools and its 25,000 students.”

Helping Paterson Get Better Grades in Urban Renewal, New York Times, May 18, 2000