News, Projects & Research

News
Mike facing the camera and smiling.
CURA Director Ed Goetz shared the magic of Mike Greco at the RCP Director's retirement.  After 26 Years with CURA, Mike Greco Leaves a Legacy of Community Partnership

After 26 years at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), Mike…

Research
State of Minnesota with outlines of counties and precincts

 

Precinct Level Demographics and Voter Turnout, 2024

News
Smiling Linda Lubi with the words "Student Spotlight Linda Lubi, Krusell Fellow" and the CURA logo.

Linda Lubi is a long-time Gopher with a lifelong interest in environmental work. She first came to the University of Minnesota as an undergraduate, graduating with a BA Urban Studies and Sociology in December 2022. With early seeds planted around green infrastructure and environmentally-…

Project
Map showing the counties that border the Canon River Watershed including Le Sueur, Rice, Waseco, and Steele.
The referenced media source is missing and needs to be re-embedded.

Gorman Lake Park and Dodd Road in Le Sueur County under water.

Turning the Tide on Flooding in the Cannon River Watershed is a spring 2026 project with the Cannon River Watershed Joint Powers Organization and Southeast…

Project
Map of Minnesota outlining counties in various shades of green and yellow.
This is a multi-year partnership with the State of Minnesota's Deptartment of Commerce and the Humphrey School's program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP). We have developed a series of maps and dashboards highlighting home…
Project
Screenshot of a map of the Lower 48 Showing Urban/Town Mix Counties vs Rural/Town Mix Counties.

 

The Census Bureau and American Community Survey (ACS) have been under attack from Congress and the White House for over a decade. Response rates (to this mandatory survey of population) are declining, funding for these critical programs are…

News
five women smiling at the camera

 


 

Changes at CURA

It's been awhile since our last CURA Stories and we have been growing, including onboarding a new communications specialist to get things like CURA Stories in your inbox.…

News Research
Ed Goetz

CURA is proud to announce that our director Dr. Edward Goetz is one of the recipients of the 2026 Contribution to the Field of Urban Affairs from the Urban Affairs Association (UAA). The recogniation is for his research that focuses on issues of race and…

Research
Box with CURA logo announcing 2026 - 2027 Faculty Grant Recipients
Three grants have been awarded to University of Minnesota faculty


The Community Action Research Grant encourages faculty to partner directly with Minnesota community organizations to address critical regional concerns spanning criminal justice, housing,…

Research
Image of an apartment building with balconies on a street with trees and an older apartment building in the distance.

The US is in the midst of an ongoing affordable housing crisis, and there is intense debate among scholars and activists about the role that high-end luxury apartments may play in lowering rents for everyone, especially for those living nearby. A new peer-reviewed study co-…

News
Image of Ishmail Malik Holt-Shabazz surrouned by goldleaf with the words, "Exemplary Community-Engaged Professional Award. Awarded by the University of Minnesota's Office Public Engagement."

The University of Minnesota’s Office of Public Engagement has awarded Ish Malik Holt-ShabazzDirector of Neighborhood Leadership and Organizing at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), the Exemplary Community-Engaged Professional Award. The honor…

Research

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Rent debt across Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge

Nick Graetz

Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota

Yusra Murad

Health Policy and Management, University…

News
CARG RFP

The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) invites proposals for our Community Action Research Grant (formerly the Faculty Interactive Research Program, FIRP)for research related to the current U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in…

News
CURA Story graphic with image of Denise Butler with article headline and subheadline
Denise Butler’s Evolution from Corporate Dreams to Community Power A little girl who turned her toys into briefcases became the community organizer Brooklyn Park needed most

Denise Butler still remembers the moment…

News
Cropped group shot of C Terrence Anderson
C Terrence Anderson

After several impactful years as CURA's Director of Community Based Research, C Terrence Anderson is leaving CURA to focus on his recently launched coffee business and spend more time with his family. During his tenure, C Terrence led…