Neighborhoods Now! graduate Katrina Mendoza Garcia's story demonstrates how community leadership and organizing can transform individuals and communities
When Katrina Mendoza Garcia joined the board of the West Side Community Organization (WSCO) in 2018, she couldn’t have predicted how it would shape not only her future but the landscape of tenant rights in Saint Paul. Shortly after joining the board, she was selected to participate in Neighborhoods Now!, a project of CURA’s Neighborhood Leadership and Organizing (NLO) program. The program creates spaces where…
CURA is pleased to announce the recipients of this year′s Fesler-Lampert Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs and Community Action Research Grant.
J'Mag Karbeah from the School of Public Health is the 2025-2026 Fesler-Lampert Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs with this project, …
By James Miller
Surveying the Landscape
When Dr. Ceema Samimi first came to the University of Minnesota during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were eager to better understand the landscape of people and organizations cultivating meaningful change in the Twin Cities.
As a researcher, social worker, and actively-engaged community member, they were no…
CURA Director Edward Goetz
Professor Edward Goetz, director of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, has been selected to receive the 2025 Mary Helen Callahan Distinguished Service Award from the Urban Affairs Association (UAA).
This is the highest recognition granted by the UAA to individuals who have been inducted into the Distinguished Service Honor Roll and have continued to fulfill meaningful service roles within the organization. Recipients are selected based on exceptional service to the UAA, engagement outside academia, and distinguished professional service that advances the work of urban affairs practitioners.
Professor…
By Somayeh (Nikoo) Nikoonazari
A transformative project is underway at Theodore Wirth Regional Park in the heart of North Minneapolis. The Stories of Connection Project, led by the Loppet Foundation in partnership with the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) Kris Nelson Community-Based Research Program, is working to bridge historical divides and create a more inclusive outdoor space for marginalized communities.
Uncovering Historical Barriers
The Stories of Connection Project emerged from crucial conversations with Black community elders in North Minneapolis. Despite…
Next Deadline for Spring Projects: March 15
The Kris Nelson Community-Based Research Program builds the power and capacity of community-based organizations to create social change through partnerships with the University of Minnesota. We match the research and technical needs of organizations with student research assistants to carry out community-defined and community-guided projects. CURA works with organizations selected for the program to create shared understanding and action based on the results.
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The Resilient Communities Project (RCP) is accepting proposals from local government agencies anywhere in Minnesota for 2025-2026 partnerships to address your community's research and technical assistance needs. Proposals must include a minimum of three discrete projects intended to advance community sustainability, equity, and resilience.
RCP partners with local government agencies to build resilience and spark positive change through the power of university research. Each year, we support projects that address a broad range of local issues and needs, involving any department or division in your…
The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) is pleased to announce the competition for the 2025–2026 Fesler-Lampert Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs, and invites interested faculty from across the University of Minnesota to apply for this award.
The Fesler-Lampert Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs provides one year of support for the research activities of a University of Minnesota faculty member on a project related to urban and regional affairs in Minnesota. Previous holders of the chair have used this support to complete projects on urban environmental policy advocacy in the Twin Cities, employee turnover and retention…
The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) invites proposals for our Community Action Research Grant (formerly the Faculty Interactive Research Program, FIRP). University of Minnesota faculty are critical resources in exploring issues and concerns important to Minnesota, such as the criminal justice system, demography, state or local economic development, education, employment, energy, the environment, health, housing, state and local government, welfare and…
By Cirien Saadeh, PhD
A Historic Policy Change
What are CURA Stories?
CURA Stories bring our mission, vision, and values to life through powerful, human-centered narratives that celebrate the work of our community and government partners. These monthly stories highlight how deep partnerships, shared expertise, and organizing as a form of leadership drive racial equity, social justice, and transformative change in Minnesota’s diverse communities. Please share this newsletter with others and share with us what past CURA…
The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota is looking for a skilled full-stack developer with a background in data science to create a web application that empowers communities, researchers, and advocates.
This tool will make it easier to understand rental property ownership, eviction patterns, and housing code violations in Minneapolis. By combining interactive maps and visualizations of ownership networks, it will shine a light on the connections between property owners and provide actionable insights to support housing equity and transparency.
What you’ll build:
- …
Ish Malik Holt Shabazz and Ned Wik Moore, Program Directors of Neighborhood Leadership and Organizing accepting the NCBON Unsung Hero Award
The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) is thrilled to announce that its Neighborhood Leadership and Organizing program and Neighborhoods Now! training have received the Unsung Hero Award from the National Community-Based Organization Network (NCBON).
The Unsung Hero Award serves to highlight the often unheralded accomplishments of community leaders who work…
The Anti-Displacement Assessment Tool
Led by the Initiative on Cities at Boston University, Loretta Lees (Boston University), Kenton Card (University of Minnesota and Boston University) and Andre Comandon (University of Southern California) developed a new tool to be implemented by the Louisville Metro Government to guide decisions about residential investments. The tool is the result of a collaboration…
This GRA position will support Justice-Impacted Individuals Voting Effectively (JIIVE) on the project titled “Ending the Punishment of Food Through Replanting the Seeds of Justice.” The project aims to explore food justice within Minnesota’s prison system by investigating land use and opportunities for urban agriculture as a means of addressing food insecurity and…
Spring 2023 graduates of the Neighborhoods Now! Program.
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) has announced the University of Minnesota earned the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award in recognition of the extraordinary community engagement initiatives of the U of M’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). As the top honoree in its region of the country, the U of M will now compete for the national C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award, which will be announced in November.
As part of the University's Office of the Vice Provost For Public Engagement, CURA…
