Mission Statement

The mission of UCSUR is to work collaboratively to conduct interdisciplinary research that improves communities and addresses social, economic, health, and policy issues most relevant to   society.  more...

Manners Award Announcement

Each year, the University of Pittsburgh University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) awards the Steven D. Manners Faculty Development Awards to promising research projects in the social, behavioral, and policy sciences on campus.

January 2019

In memory of Steven Manners, who served as Assistant Director of the Center for many years, we are pleased to announce the 19th annual development awards program in recognition of his contributions to the Center and the University community. We will make two awards of up to $10,000 each.  more...

July 2018

The following three individuals received the 2018 Manners Award from UCSUR:

• Junia Howell, PhD
  "The Role of Local Government in Allegheny County's Neighborhood Transformation from 1986 to 2018"

• Chelsea Pallatino, PhD
  "Co-occurring Intimate Partner Violence and Substance Use: Understanding Barriers to Collocated Integrated Services"

• Jamie Hanson, PhD
  "Leveraging ecological momentary assessments to understand associations between poverty, stress exposure, and environmental volatility"

Brown Bag Lecture Series

Friday, February 8th, 2019 - "Governing without Government: Nonprofit Governance in Detroit and Flint" - Davia Downey, Associate Professor and the MPA Program Coordinator for the NASPAA accredited Masters of Public Administration program at Grand Valley State University in the School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration. Her research looks at the impacts of natural and man-made disasters on economic development in cities and states. She also dabbles in research on tax increment financing, the interplay of party capability theory cross-nationally, and exploring the interrelationships between nonprofit organizations and local governments as they navigate long-term collaborative partnerships.

Pittsburgh Economic Quarterly

Highlighting important economic and demographic trends that impact the regional economy and the competitiveness of the regional economy.

January 2019

• Earnings Rebound in Southwestern Pennsylvania
  by Christopher Briem

• Civic Switchboard Update

• Urban and Regional Brown Bag Lecture Series Spring 2019

Pittsburgh Perspectives

• 02/11/2019:  Pittsburgh's highly educated immigrants
• 01/28/2019:  Ongoing demographic change in the City of Pittsburgh
• 01/10/2019:  Pittsburgh's North Side and what might have been

Recent Reports

August 2018

A Comprehensive Assessment of Pennsylvania's Military Installations, 2018.  The University of Pittsburgh Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) engaged in a year-long study to analyze and understand the economic and community impacts of Pennsylvania’s military and defense installations. The purpose of the project is to aid Pennsylvania in understanding the economic and strategic value of its military installations regionally and nationally and the critical ties these installations have to the surrounding communities and also to Pennsylvania industry. The project provides decision support resources that will assist state and local policy makers and other stakeholders in promoting the value of Pennsylvania’s military installations.  more...

May 2018, Michael Blackhurst, PhD

Predicting Lead Water Service Line Locations for Improving Mitigation Strategies.  In this study, data describing the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s (PWSA) drinking water distribution system were merged with property data to develop predictive models of lead service line locations. Following expected historical development patterns, the lateral material at neighboring properties was the best predictor of lead laterals. The date of lateral installation and date of inspection were also good predictors. The year a property was built provided acceptable prediction. The model was 78% accurate in predicting lead laterals identified through recent inspections. Using a combination of recent inspections and predictions, this study estimates that approximately 39,000 lead laterals are in PWSA’s service area.  more...

February 2018

Evaluating Bicycle, Pedestrian, Transit and Economic Data Collection Needs and Measures of Effectiveness in Pennsylvania.  The purpose of this research project was to evaluate the current data collection procedures for bicycle and pedestrian projects utilized by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Pennsylvania's Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and Rural Planning Organizations (RPOs). The evaluation has assessed how additional data collection could support Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) for planning and design activities. 

Key Projects & Studies

UCSUR Directed (selected)

• PuRRR · Pitt UCSUR Regional Research Registry.  A local IRB-approved research registry currently containing approximately 9,000 regional residents with detailed socio-demographic and contact information. The registry now includes unpaid family caregiver data!
• Pittsburgh Regional Quality of Life Survey, 2018.  Scott R. Beach, Survey Research Program & Douglas Heuck, Pittsburgh TODAY.
• Assessment of Pennsylvania's Military Institutions.  Sabina Deitrick, Colleen Cain, & Chris Briem.  Urban & Regional Analysis Program.
• Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP).  Gerontology Research Program.
• Pittsburgh TODAY.  Douglas Heuck. 
• Self-management via Health Kiosk by Community-residing Older Adults.   Judith Matthews.  Gerontology Research Program.
• Understanding Factors Influencing Financial Exploitation among Diverse Samples of Older Adults.  Scott Beach.  Survey Research Program.
• Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center (WPRDC).  Robert Gradeck. 

UCSUR Collaborations (selected)

UCSUR is currently working on over 50 projects.  Below is a selected list.  For a complete list of all of our collaborative projects & studies, please refer to the Projects section in our Annual Reports.

• Center for Caregiving Research, Education, & Policy.  Richard Schulz,  Scott R. Beach, Steve Albert, Et al.  Pitt Health Policy Institute.
• Does Mindfulness Meditation Training Improve Social Relationship Functioning?   David Creswell, CMU.  NIH Funded.
• Esophageal Cancer Patient Survey.   Katie Nason, Pitt Department of Medicine.  NIH Funded.
• Factors Contributing to Oral Health Disparities in Appalachia.   Mary Marazita, Pitt Department of Oral Biology.  NIH Funded.
• Improving the Availability of Younger Unrelated Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donors.   Galen Switzer, Pitt Department of Medicine.  NIH Funded.
• Social Integration, Daily Social Interaction, and Health Risk Pathways in Midlife.   Thomas Kamarck, Pitt Department of Psychology.  NIH Funded.
• Targeted Interventions to Prevent Chronic Lower Back Pain (TARGET Trial).   Anthony Delitto, Pitt Department of Physical Therapy .  Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Funded.
• Undergraduate Student Satisfaction and Retention Study.   Pitt Office of the Provost.