Challenges Facing Our Region
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The Long Island Index measures annual progress toward its goals for a growing, inclusive economy. An inclusive economy creates a range of job opportunities for an educated population that enjoys a high quality of life based on creative, livable communities with affordable housing and vibrant job centers close to transportation.
Today, Long Island has a number of important regional assets including its universities and K-12 education, an increasingly diversified economy with growing health, information and business services, its natural beauty with open spaces and a nationally recognized health care system.
However, Long Island also faces a number of challenges as a result of its historical fragmentation of governance, independent communities and a growing disparity by income, race and ethnicity that is described in the Index’s current housing, education and health indicators.
The key to Long Island’s future is growing and retaining talent. Currently, the region is exporting its most valuable product – its talented young people – due to high housing costs, lack of exciting job opportunities and a lack of creative, livable communities for young people.
Long Island has a choice. Its current reality is a region with widening disparities and fragmentation. Our vision is a region of vital communities working together to create a vibrant economy with high paying jobs, good education and affordable housing for all. A place where our children can go to school here and choose to live here because the region offers a wide range of choices of creative places to live and good job opportunities.
Achieving this vision will require strong leadership from business, community, education and government working together as stewards for the long-term well being of the region.
The Index is an important tool for assessing progress towards these goals.