Interim Director
Dr. Scott R. Beach, Interim Director
I am happy to update the University community on the recent activities and accomplishments of the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR).
During the past year, UCSUR produced 18 peer-reviewed publications, 3 book chapters, and 5 technical reports; and participated in over 60 funded research projects, the majority of which involve multidisciplinary collaborations. We continued our nationally recognized research in family caregiving, financial exploitation of older adults, and technology and aging. As part of that effort, Dr. Beach is Co-Director (Co-PI) of an Administration for Community Living (ACL) / National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Family Support. This is a five year, $4.3M Center grant focused on facilitating the rapid translation and dissemination of state-of-the-art research and training into direct services and support programs designed to improve care, health, and quality of life of persons with disability, their families, and informal caregivers.
UCSUR also released the State of Aging, Disability, and Family Caregiving in Westmoreland County report, a replication of the State of Aging in Allegheny County report released in 2023. Using secondary data and a telephone survey, the project characterizes older adults across a broad range of dimensions including demographics, income and poverty, health, work and retirement, living arrangements, housing and neighborhood conditions, and caregiving, disability and aging service use. The report has been broadly disseminated to Westmoreland County aging service providers and policymakers. We also released the Allegheny County Quality of Life Survey 2023, the third in our series of surveys (2012, 2018) describing county resident perceptions across multiple life domains. The survey was designed collaboratively with several community partners, and the results have been broadly disseminated to community members, service providers, and county officials.
UCSUR also continues to be a key resource for data and analysis to inform regional public policy through the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center (WPRDC), which currently provides access to over 300 downloadable data sets (many updated on a frequent basis). The WPRDC also offers several data extraction and visualization tools that enhance user access and support statistical analyses. WPRDC has been extremely successful in obtaining foundation and federal support for multiple projects, which has allowed for the continued expansion of the initiative. Our Urban and Regional Analysis (URA) Program continues to conduct research focused on major economic and demographic trends in the Pittsburgh region and in national / international contexts, regional development, community change, and workforce development. The work of URA is often covered by local and national media outlets.
UCSUR continues to build its permanent research infrastructure. Highlights include our regional research registry with more than 9,000 local residents (including 1,200 family caregivers) willing to participate in research studies; and continued expansion of our Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities.
Finally, UCSUR celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, and in Fall 2023 we organized a symposium to celebrate the milestone - “Housing in the 21st Century,” a well-attended event that focused on one of the most important issues facing our society. The event was an excellent showcase for UCSUR’s collaborative, multidisciplinary, community-focused agenda. I hope this report will give you a sense of the value that UCSUR provides to the university and broader community.