About the Center for Urban Research

Working with Graduate Center faculty and students, the Center for Urban Research (CUR) organizes basic research on the critical issues that face New York and other large cities in the U.S. and abroad, collaborates on applied research with public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other partners, and holds forums for the media, foundations, community organizations and others about urban research at the Graduate Center and the City University.

These activities are motivated by the desire to understand how broad forces like the global economy and immigration are reshaping work, politics, and neighborhood life in large metropolitan areas.  To promote these ends, CUR:

  1. Organizes lectures, seminars, and conferences and encourages debate within CUNY and New York City on urban issues.

  2. Develops and seeks foundation, government, and corporate funding for research that uses New York City as a laboratory.  Main areas of research include:

    1. immigration,

    2. housing and neighborhood change,

    3. economic development,
    4. demographic trends,

    5. crime, and

    6. political participation.

  3. Provides a laboratory for statistical analysis and mapping of a variety of data sources and trains faculty and students to employ them.  The CUNY Data Service and CUNY Mapping Service at CUR specialize in using the latest statistical and mapping tools and techniques.

    1. Software includes SPSS, SAS, R, ArcGIS, SQL Server, Access, Excel, MapInfo, and Atlas Select.

    2. Hardware includes a state-of-the-art desktop and server-based PC network, the university mainframe, and many forms of data storage and output.

    3. Featured projects include the OASISnyc.net website and CUR's Online Statistical Data Analysis website.

  4. Informs constituencies outside the university about these activities.

Copyright 2008 Center for Urban Research, The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY)
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