The College of Urban Affairs of Cleveland State University

Cleveland State University
1935 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
Tel. 687-2136

The College of Urban Affairs of Cleveland State University, established in 1977, primarily serves Northeast Ohio with urban education programs—both traditional academic degree programs and innovative non-traditional activities within the areas of training, research and public service. The College is comprised of the Department of Urban Studies and The Urban Center. The Urban Studies Department offers bachelor of arts and master of science degrees in urban studies.

In 1979 the Ohio Board of Regents designated the College of Urban Affairs and its Urban Center as a demonstration center for the development of programs related to urban issues. The Urban Center has concentrated its research and public service activities on neighborhood development, housing, regional and urban development, economic development, energy policy, data development and dissemination, and other urban policy issues. The Urban Center offers its services to local officials, agencies, organizations and private individuals.

For any city to be revitalized, its neighborhoods must be strong and stable. That is why The Urban Center emphasizes neighborhood development in its education, research and public service efforts. The Neighborhood Development Program was started by the College in 1979 in response to the community’s growing commitment to neighborhood-based development activities.

A major component of the Neighborhood Development Program (N.D.P.) is the Cleveland Center for Neighborhood Development, which provides a centralized and dependable source of information and direct assistance to neighborhoods. The N.D.P.’s efforts are concentrated in the following areas: giving technical assistance to community organizations; helping create new development organizations; bringing together foundation executives and neighborhood groups; and initiating new programs and research.

Recently the Center for Neighborhood Development developed a Neighborhood Energy Conservation Program, which focuses on residential energy conservation by researching and designing ways of helping citizens deal with rising energy costs.

Another component of the Neighborhood Development Program focuses on marketing Cleveland as a viable place to live. The Urban Center has been involved in a number of activities with the private sector and with the City of Cleveland promoting Cleveland neighborhoods.

The Urban Center also has a Housing Research Policy Program which studies critical housing supply and demand issues. It identifies and analyzes housing directions and trends useful for neighborhood revitalization. This project serves as a clearinghouse for the housing research data.

The College, through the Northern Ohio Data and Information Service (NODIS), provides convenient access to a wide variety of census data.

The newest program is the Cleveland Economic Analysis Project which will maintain a regional economic data base, provide policy makers as well as the general public with up-to-date information on local economic conditions, and research important issues facing the city and the region.

The College’s facilities are available for conferences and other informational meetings concerning urban affairs. In addition, many of the courses offered by the Department of Urban Studies have a “hands on” approach which would be helpful to the student and neighborhood resident alike in the analysis of the city and its problems.