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The mission of The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University® is to advance the goals of suburban sustainability, social equity, and economic development through research, education, and public outreach.
In the News
Celebration of Suburban Diversity
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
This annual event raised funds for diversity-related research and scholarships. This event is dedicated to the ideal that we can be stronger for our differences if we come together to appreciate them.
About the Center
Mission
The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University® is a nonpartisan research institution dedicated to promoting the study of suburbia's problems, as well as its promise. Rooted in the laboratory of Long Island’s diverse and aging suburbs and in the shadows of the iconic Levittown, the National Center researches a broad range of issues at local, national, and international scales. The suburbs have emerged at the nexus of dynamic demographic, social, economic and environmental change in New York and throughout the world. We seek to understand the suburbs via academically rigorous research that encompasses the natural and social sciences and the humanities. The goal of the center is to identify, analyze, and solve the problems of suburbia, especially in areas of sustainability, social equity, and economic development.
Research Objectives Meet the Administration, Faculty, and Students
Programs
Student Research Showcase
The NCSS proudly supports student-led research that advances understanding of the social, environment, and economic issues shaping suburban communities.
Students in the Sustainability Studio course (SBLY 110) developed original research examining issues of sustainability, land use, mobility, health, and community well-being. This work was supported by the National Center for Suburban Studies and made possible through generous funding from Robert Catell.
Below are featured posters for the spring of 2025, representing interdisciplinary inquiry and the Center’s commitment to fostering experiential learning.
Wastewater Monitoring in Long Island Waters
This project was supported by the National Center for Suburban Studies (NCSS), which sponsors student research in the Biology Department through our Sustainability Institute.
Samir Patel and Shiloah Lewis developed a method to measure artificial sweeteners and related chemicals to track the presence of municipal wastewater in Long Island receiving waters. Their work supports ongoing efforts to monitor and protect local environmental health.
Patel (2025 Summer Fellowship recipient) and Lewis (2026 Summer Fellowship recipient) conducted their research at the Long Island Native Habitat Conservancy (LINHC) under the mentorship of Dr. Kevin Bisceglia of Hofstra’s Chemistry Department. They presented their findings at the Long Island Natural History Conference on February 27, 2026.
Project Images:
Students presenting research at the Long Island Natural History Conference
Samir Patel at the Long Island Native Habitat Conservancy (LINHC)
Shiloah Lewis at the Long Island Native Habitat Conservancy (LINHC)
Medical Student Research Week
Student research presented during Medical Student Research Week is supported by the Center’s Foundation for Innovations in Medical Education.
Second-year medical students at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell conduct mentored research during the summer between their first and second years, working with faculty and researchers at Northwell Health, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. These projects are an integral part of the curriculum and provide opportunities for students to pursue individual research interests.
Student work is presented annually during Medical Student Research Week and reflects a range of topics, including maternal health education, physician preparedness to care for patients with developmental disabilities, participation in clinical trials among diverse populations, and lifestyle interventions to improve outcomes in aging adults with chronic disease.
Student Research Posters:
Freda Hasselbring Poster
Kianna Rojas Poster
Ethan Royka Poster
Nneka Ulu Poster
Hillary Flurkey
Hillary Flurkey’s research project sought to understand suburban residents’ attitudes toward public transportation, specifically examining how residents of Northport and East Northport feel about expanding the current public transportation system.
Trevor Johnson
Trevor Johnson’s research project examined the extent to which Hofstra students’ awareness of the environmental impacts of meat production influenced their meat consumption choices.
Benjamin Cortez
Benjamin Cortez’s research focuses on analyzing how YouTube users respond to different ways of communicating environmental information in order to understand which framing styles increase engagement and are most effective.
Contact Us
Social Media
Publications
The Storm, the Strife, and Everyday Life: Sea Changes in the Suburbs
Foreword by Larry Levy
Forging a New Housing Policy: Opportunity in the Wake of Crisis
Christopher Niedt and Marc Silver
