Center on Urban Poverty and Community
Development Web Site
In August, 1988, the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences received funding from the
Rockefeller and Cleveland Foundations to establish a program to address the problems of persistent
and concentrated poverty in the Cleveland area. The mission of the Center is to create,
communicate, and apply knowledge of value to a broad range of audiences and constituents concerned
with the ultimate goal of reducing urban poverty and its consequences. The Center serves as a
pathway between the University and the community, linking social science to social change. Founded
in 1988 with support from the Cleveland and Rockefeller Foundations, it is a unique focal point for
scholarship, education, and training on urban poverty. The Center's work has wide impact through a
nationwide network of academic centers, poverty researchers, and advocates.
The Center's primary function is to produce comprehensive poverty-related information in local
and regional contexts. The special focus of all studies undertaken by the Center's
multidisciplinary team of social welfare experts, economists, and demographers is the neighborhood
the fundamental interface between the large-scale social forces that create poverty and the
individuals and families who are poor. Center researchers have mounted many collaborative projects
incorporating approaches from other disciplines and professions including anthropology,
epidemiology, medicine, public health, and psychology. To ensure that its research has immediate
relevance for its constituents, the Center undertakes projects only with community involvement. An
equally important goal of the Center is to educate and train the next generation of poverty
researchers, administrators, and advocates.
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