The Urban Futures Program strives to change the climate and terms of the debate over urban policy by developing and promoting voluntary, private-sector, and market-oriented solutions to urban problems. The program's principal activities focus on urban economic development policy and land-use planning at the local, regional, state, and national levels.

The Urban Futures Program fulfills its mission by:

• Developing and promoting market-oriented approaches and paradigms for urban development, revitalization, and planning policy.
  
  
• Underwriting original policy research in critical issue areas such as urban growth, inner-city revitalization, land-use planning, regional government, and growth management.
  
  
• Maintaining internet access to the most recent scholarly research on market-oriented urban policy.
  
  
• Networking urban scholars and policy analysts to create a community of market-oriented analysts, a forum for discussing public-policy issues, and access to the best talent and thinking in the field.
  
  
• Providing a principal point-of-contact for citizens, journalists, students, policy analysts, and scholars with an interest in market-oriented urban policy.