The Center for an Urban Future is a think tank and public policy organization that researches ways to improve New York City's overall health. Their latest Growth by Design report, available as a free PDF, says a lot of promising things about the current and future state of the design industries in Core77's hometown city:

...Thus far little attention has been paid to a part of the economy that has experienced phenomenal growth over the past decade and for which New York holds a significant competitive advantage: design. Though fewer and fewer products are actually made in high-cost cities like New York, the Big Apple has cemented its status as one of the few global hubs for where things are designed. In 2009, the New York metro-region was home to 40,470 designers, which is far and away the largest pool of design talent in the country and among two or three of the largest in the world. In addition, no other American city has strengths in so many design fields—from architecture to fashion design, graphic design, interior design, furniture design and industrial design.

The design sector has also been expanding at a rapid clip. Between 2000 and 2009, design sector jobs in the New York metro area grew by 75 percent, with especially large jumps in the number of interior designers (which increased by 223 percent), graphic designers (139 percent) and industrial designers (127 percent)....

There is tremendous potential for future growth in design, and New York is well positioned to capture this growth. Yet, the sector also faces real challenges and growing competition, particularly from overseas cities. And as we document in this report, city and state economic development agencies have thus far barely begun to think about how to strengthen and support New York's design industries.

This is the kind of report we love to read: It's not only filled with encouraging news, but highlights the work we still have to do, providing some direction for the road ahead. Download it here.