Communities across Minnesota are constantly evolving in response to their unique local challenges and opportunities. The CURA's Resilient Communities Project (RCP) was designed to help communities successfully navigate these challenges and opportunities. RCP is an innovative, cross-disciplinary program that builds community capacity to adapt and thrive in the face of changing social, economic, technological, and environmental conditions. The program’s mission is to connect local government agencies with University of Minnesota students and faculty to work collaboratively on projects that both advance community sustainability, equity, and resilience and enhance student learning, knowledge, and skills.
Through one-year partnerships with local government agencies in Minnesota, the program strategically matches community-identified projects with graduate and professional students and faculty at the University of Minnesota who can provide research or technical assistance to drive change—by gathering and analyzing local data, convening community discussions, bringing innovative ideas and solutions to the table, and catalyzing new collaborations and connections. Local government staff and community stakeholders work closely with faculty and students to provide local knowledge and deeper insight into the issues, ensuring projects are relevant to the community context and providing hands-on opportunities for students to apply their knowledge and training to real community issues.
To learn more, visit the Resilient Communities Project website.
Mike Greco
Mike Greco, AICP, is co-founder and director of the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), which provides research and technical assistance to communities in Minnesota to advance local sustainability and resilience.
Mike has a master of urban and regional planning degree from the University of Minnesota, with a specialization in environmental planning and sustainability. He also earned a master of arts degree in communication studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and completed doctoral coursework in communication studies at the University of Illinois. Before joining CURA, Mike taught communication studies at the University of Minnesota and St. Olaf College, and worked as a freelance writer, editor, and public policy researcher. He serves on the Dakota County Planning Commission, as well as local and regional advisory committees on urban planning issues and sustainability.
Related program
