Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) was founded in 1983 by Professor Foster Armstrong, with the support of the Urban University Program. Under Armstrong's direction, the Urban Design Center (UDC) of Northeast Ohio (as it was then known) expanded the College of Architecture & Environmental Design's existing outreach and public service activities. The Center was located on the KSU's main campus in Kent. Its focus was two-fold:
Provide thinking around and responses to historic preservation and general infrastructure problems in Northeast Ohio's towns and cities.
In conjunction with students and staff in the department's studio courses, the UDC administered research into larger urban issues in Cleveland as well as other urban cores.
By 1998, the CUDC had a new director, Ruth Durack, who moved the UDC to a new facility in Downtown Cleveland in late 1999, raising the profile of the organization and expanding its range of projects and community partners. The move also enabled KSU to realize a long-standing goal of placing the College of Architecture + Environmental Design's academic and outreach programs in the city of Cleveland, which since 1972 had lacked a school of architecture.
The Cleveland facility enables graduate students to pursue their studies in the midst of design challenges that are present in cities around the world. Simultaneously, the CUDC's professional staff have been able to help revitalize neighborhoods in Northeast Ohio's largest city while also working on projects that affect the region as a whole.
Throughout 2020, the CUDC will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in Cleveland—visit the CUDC 20 page for more info on related news & events.
MISSION
Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) is an innovative urban design practice committed to a sustainable, vibrant and inclusive urban future.
We combine client-based projects, applied research, graduate teaching and advocacy to impact urban design decisions and land use policy in Cleveland, Northeast Ohio and beyond.
We work closely with on the ground stakeholders, civic organizations, academic partners, students, and a multidisciplinary network of professionals to address emerging issues, locally and nationally, and expand the ideas, energy, and resources dedicated to making better cities.
VISION
The CUDC works toward the improvement of the built environment through design assistance, research, education, and advocacy. In all its work, the CUDC strives to create livable and sustainable communities, to enhance the public realm, to protect natural and cultural resources, and to stimulate economic prosperity.
VALUES
We are people-focused, putting end-users at the center of the design process.
We believe in a flexible and adaptive design methodology.
We strive to be helpful to communities in Cleveland, Northeast Ohio and beyond.
We are forward-looking, creating approaches that are both grounded and experimental.