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Ohio State urban science center celebrates 25 years

Center for Urban and Regional Analysis honored with government commendations

The Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA) at The Ohio State University celebrated its 25th anniversary with a festive brunch and commendations from the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate, as well as from Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther.

Founded in 2001, CURA's mission is research and outreach to foster more sustainable, resilient and connected communities in Ohio and beyond using geospatial science and technologies.

The April 10 event featured a number of speakers, including CURA's co-founders W. Randy Smith and Hazel Morrow-Jones as well as officials from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the Ohio History Connection.

Collaboration was the unofficial theme of the day. Harvey Miller, CURA's director and a geography professor, welcomed guests and shared his thoughts on the center's success.

"What makes CURA's story especially meaningful is that it's always been a collective," he said. "A collective effort whose success is a product of the dedication of its founders, the leadership of university partners, the trust of community collaborators, and the energy and insight of students and researchers at every stage of their career."

One such former student is Robert Dietz, chief economist and senior vice president for economics and housing policy at the National Association of Home Builders, as well as CURA's first graduate research associate in 2001.

Dietz spoke to the group via video about his experience with CURA and the many ways it shaped his career.

"[CURA] was excellent training for my current role as chief economist of a national trade association with 140,000 members and a team of 12 economists conducting analysis of the housing market and researching what we believe is among the most crucial domestic policy issues of today: How big is the housing deficit and what are the root causes for the lack of housing construction in the U.S.?

"… The tools my team uses to examine these issues and the policies we recommend, [as well as any] testimony to Congress and state legislatures, are all based on the topics and tools I learned at Ohio State and CURA back in the late 1990s and early 2000s."

Ryan King, dean of social and behavioral sciences, congratulated the center for its dedication to community engagement.

"Ohio State was founded on the land-grant promise that a great university owes something to the people that it serves," he said. "And I applaud CURA for taking that promise seriously through your word, through your deed, and through your fulfillment of that mission."

CURA's focus on making society better, King said, shows how social science can have a positive impact on individuals as well as their communities.

"It's social science with a soul," he said.

One of CURA's signature projects is the Ghost Neighborhoods of Columbus, a digital re-creation of neighborhoods - predominantly housing Black people and immigrants - destroyed during the building of the interstate highway system.

Shelbi Toone, project lead of the Poindexter Village African American Museum at the Ohio History Connection, called CURA's work "priceless."

"When I found out about the maps and that you could actually look back at the maps and see the houses that were there before the freeways and then turn it into something that the public can actually see and understand - it has been a game-changer for the possibilities of telling that story."

Representatives from the Ohio Legislature and Ginther's office closed the event, presenting Miller with commendations in honor of the center's quarter century of service.

Rep. Dontavius Jarrells spoke about the impact CURA has had on his constituents in Ohio House District 1, which includes downtown, Franklinton, Bexley and the Near East Side.

"So, for 25 years, CURA has taken on complex issues and made them usable for the people responsible for solving them," he said. "You've helped leaders understand where growth is happening, where gaps persist and where attention is needed most. You have informed decisions on housing and transportation, public health, and environmental sustainability and economic development in ways that strengthen not just Columbus, but the entire state."

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