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The Center for Urban Studies was established in 1966. Since then, the mission, purpose, and character of the Center have changed dramatically. The following outlines the Center’s organizational development and changing research agenda over several periods, from 1966 to the present. Organizational Development The Center, with Dr. Musolf at its helm, was one of the founding institutions of the Urban Affairs Association, initially called the Council for University Centers of Urban and Public Affairs. In 1971, Dr. West left his position as associate director of the Urban Studies Ph.D. program; after a national search, Dr. Nohad Toulan assumed the role in 1972. Two years later, Dr. Musolf left the Center to become the executive director of the Housing Authority of Portland. Dr. Toulan then took over the directorship of the Center as well. Dr. Judy Barmack served as assistant director of the Center under Dr. Toulan. Establishing a Research Identity When the Center for Urban Studies was founded in 1966, its mission and the nature of its activities were quite different from those of today. Although the Center was established as a research unit, for the first decade and a half, its activities were much broader, with the Center playing a major role in academic development. Research, although not necessarily dominating the Center’s activities, was still a significant part of the Center’s mission. Areas of interest included evaluation of the Model Cities program in Portland as well as research for Multnomah County that identified and measured double taxation or "urban subsidy," whereby taxpayers in incorporated areas were paying twice — to both the City and the County — for police and road service. During these early years, the Center published a bimonthly newsletter called Metroscene. By the end of the 1970s, the Center had established its research expertise in a number of areas. These included: • Urban Policy
Analysis DEVELOPING EXPERTISE: 1979-1983 Organizational Development An Emerging Research Agenda During the first several years of the 1980s, the Center’s activities became more focused and defined. Dr. Edner continued the tradition of research of the fiscal impacts of double taxation. Research and training activities with respect to urban transportation also began to take a central position in the Center’s agenda. In part, this was due to major changes occurring in transportation policy and planning at the local level, which included the construction of the nation’s first transit mall and planning for the nation’s first joint freeway-improvement/light-rail transit project — MAX. The Center was involved at an early stage with an assessment of both these developments. In 1982, the Federal Urban Mass Transportation
Administration (UMTA) funded nine transit research and management
centers throughout the nation, with the Center for Urban Studies
being selected as the site of one such center. In this role, the
Center began offering transit-related training and workshops, while
continuing to undertake research projects related to transit. ACHIEVING NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION: 1984-1990 Organizational Development During this period, Dr. Anthony Rufolo, professor of Urban Studies and Planning, developed an active program of research in urban services, economics, and public finance. The Center also became involved with recycling education and training through a project launched by Dr. Gerald Blake, professor of Urban Studies and Planning. By the beginning of the 1990s, the Center had developed a national and international reputation for its transportation research and its research using GIS and GIS for transportation (GIS-T). The Center’s growing national visibility in transportation, GIS, and GIS-T during this period is also demonstrated by the fact that the University’s Center for Transportation Studies, formerly of the School of Business, was transferred to the Center in 1987. The Center’s role in transportation and
GIS was also reflected in the professional service of the Center’s
director, Dr. Dueker, who in 1988 became a board member of the TransNow
Consortium of Northwest Transportation Research Universities. The
following year he was appointed chair of the Subcommittee on GIS
in Transportation for the Transportation Research Board, a unit
of the National Research Council. Dr. Dueker also has served as
president of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association
(URISA) and became co-editor of the Journal of Urban and Regional
Information Systems Association in 1988. • Determinants
of Property Value The Center also began to articulate its role within the University with more clarity. The goals for the 1990s included the following: • Helping
to make urban research a priority at PSU YEARS OF EXPANSION: 1991-PRESENT Organizational Development At the beginning of its fourth decade, the Center
continued its partnership with faculty members from departments
throughout the College of Urban and Public Affairs, who serve as
principal investigators, co-principal investigators, and research
staff on Center projects. One of the Center’s largest initiatives in the 1990s was a $300,000 project funded by the Transit Cooperative Research Program of the Transportation Research Board, National Research Council. The objective of this project, which began in 1994, was to identify and assess parking policy strategies to attract auto users to public transportation. In the summer of 1996, the Center submitted the draft of its final report. Center faculty Drs. Bianco and Dueker presented some of these finding at the joint international conference of the Association of European Schools of Planning and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning in Toronto. Drs. Strathman, Dueker and Peng have published portions of their analysis in various journals and have presented some of their findings at the Transportation Research Board. The Center has also remained very active in the arena of urban environmental issues, having contracted with several local government agencies and private organizations to undertake research and educational projects. Since 1989, the Center has received external funding in excess of $1.3 million for such endeavors, including a multifamily recycling program; an aerosol can recycling pilot project; a summer youth employment program; an EnviroCorps (AmericCorps) program; and a variety of educational video productions to supplement environmental education programs. The Center’s research activities comprise only a portion of its overall undertakings. Other important contributions of the Center include the following: Teaching and Training • Core and
field-area courses in the Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning Partnerships with Faculty • Coordinated
research efforts with faculty members from the School of Urban Professional Service • Editorial
positions Partnerships with the Community • Training
and research partnerships with Metro, Tri-Met, and the City of Portland
Technology and Information Transfer • "CivicNet"
for community-based technology access A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE: THE MILLENNIUM AND BEYOND The Center faces new challenges in defining
its course for the future. In mid-1999, Dr. Dueker completed 20
years as director of the Center. Turning his attention to preparing
the Center for the coming millennium, and to preparing for his own
retirement, he began easing out of his Center responsibilities.
One major change was stepping down as director of the Center. In
his place, Dr. Strathman took the helm, and Dr. Dueker continued
to teach, advise, conduct research and also became the official
director of the Center for Transportation
Studies. In 2001 and 2002, the Center’s endeavors were greatly strengthened by the addition to its ranks of several research associates: Dr. Thomas J. Kimpel, previously a research assistant, began postdoctoral work and Dr. Rob Bertini of Civil Engineering signed on for a joint appointment and as the director of the Center for Transportation Studies. With a strong research team in place and a growing research agenda, the Center looks to the new millennium for opportunities to diversify its interests while continuing to serve students, the University, and the community by carrying on its tradition as a robust and prolific research laboratory.
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