In early August 2011, the University Center for Social & Urban Research moved office locations on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.  Our new address is 3343 Forbes Ave.  We are located approximately half a mile down the road from our previous location and directly across from Magee Womens Hospital.  This move was necessary in order to make room for a new freshman residence hall.  Click here for our contact information with map links.    more ...

• Monday, February 20, 2012:  The Life Course, Independence & Late-Life Depression
  Interview by Lonnie Stoltzfoos
  • Center Director Richard Schulz is interviewed for Psychiatry Weekly, a weekly hospital placed news and information service.
  • "Treatment of depression in late life can be particularly vexing because of the other inevitable life changes that occur during those years - bereavement, changing health or illness, and functional disability. Dr. Richard Schulz has conducted extensive research on how late-life disease and depression affect patients and their loved ones, and how people adapt to the changes that can occur in later years."

  ---

• February 2012:  PittsburghToday.org 2012 Annual Report
  
  • 90.5 Essential Public Radio:  Pittsburgh Region Shines in Annual Report
    - "When the benchmarking project began in 1995, Director Douglas Heuck said Pittsburgh fared poorly in many categories, but now it is number one in job growth with a relatively strong, diversified economy."
    
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:  Pittsburgh Today´ study: Region rates well in job creation, economy
    - "A new report card for Pittsburgh shows that more people are moving to this area than leaving and that the region´s increasingly diversified economy is generating jobs in education, financial services, energy and medicine."
    - "It´s a total change for our area," said Douglas Heuck, director of Pittsburgh Today."
  • Pittsburgh Tribune Review:  Job growth, dollar value, culture attract workers to Pittsburgh
    - "When you have a regional economy with an unemployment rate lower than the national average, that becomes attractive," said Douglas Heuck, director of Pittsburgh Today´s Regional Indicators. "People look at Pittsburgh and think, ´Hey, I can get a job there.´"

  ---

• Monday, February 06, 2012:  Elderly caregivers need to monitor their stress
  By Linda Rhodes, PennLive.com
  • Center Director Richard Schulz´s elder care research is highlighted in this article.
  • "Studies led by Dr. Richard Schulz, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, found that older spouses who reported caregiver stress had a 63 percent higher risk of death compared to peers who had no caregiving role."

  ---

• Urban Affairs Association Conference 2012 - April 18-21
  • Sabina Deitrick, Local Host Committee Co-Chair
  • Panel participants:  Scott Beach, Donald Musa, Chris Briem, Doug Heuck, and Bob Gradeck
  • Ben Robinson, Chair of student volunteers and poster presenter
  • Registration Deadlines
    Early:  February 1, 2012 (5:00pm Central Standard Time)
    Late:  March 1, 2012 (5:00pm Central Standard Time)

  ---

• Sunday February 5, 2012:  Allegheny County reassessment favors properties with higher prices, review finds
  By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  • Economist Chris Briem provides continuing commentary on Allegheny County property reassessments.
  • "Clearly the assessment has not eliminated inequity, but it is clearly a step toward a more equitable goal."

  ---

• Wednesday, January 25, 2012:  Job Numbers In Pittsburgh Are Getting Stronger
  By Jared Adkins, 90.5 Essential Public Radio
  • PittsburghTODAY´s, Doug Heuck is interviewed regarding the state of the local economy.
  • "What´s unusual now, and really is kind of a terrific best of all worlds scenario, is that we went into the recession later, we didn´t go nearly as deep, and we´re coming out if at a much quicker rate than other regions"

  ---

• Wednesday January 25, 2012:  The Survey Resarch Program now incorporates cell phone sampling into our Random Digit Dial surveys!
  
  • According to the most recent estimates, approximately 30% of U.S. households are cell-phone only
  • In addition, another 10-20% reports receiving most or all of their calls on their cell phone even though they still have a landline
  • This means that nearly half of all U.S. adults are reachable primarily by cell phone

  ---

• Monday January 16, 2012:  Assessment Methods, Shortcomings Revealed
  By Andy Sheehan, KDKA TV
  • Regional economist, Chris Briem, is interviewed regarding Allegheny County assessment methods.
  • "Two out of three property owners should pay less in taxes next year."

  ---

• Sunday January 8, 2012:  Many likely to see life savings dwindle in their ´older elderly´ years
  By Mike Wereschagin, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
  • Richard Schulz, UCSUR Director, is quoted regarding senior healt care costs.
  • "As a group, seniors are much better off now than they were before we had Medicare. Health care costs were often devastating."

  ---

• Sunday January 8, 2012:  Figure on losers aplenty from reassessment mess
  By Brian O´Neill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  • Our economist Chris Briem provides a different outlook on reassessments.
  • "About six of every 10 property owners would see a tax cut out of these reassessments."

  ---

• Tuesday, December 28, 2011:  Loyalty, longevity are hallmarks at Pennsbury Village
  By Jodi Weigand, Pittsburgh Tribune Review
  • Economist Chris Briem provides data from the American Community Survey in this story about "aging in place."

  ---

• December 22, 2011:  Pittsburgh Economic Quarterly (PEQ)
  Download it today!
  • Foreclosure, Vacancy and Crime
  • Transit and Commuting Patterns in Southwestern Pennsylvania
  • Updated Population Migration Report

  ---

• December 19, 2011:  Location: Why Where You Set Up Shop Could Make or Break Your Company
  An Interview with Ron Morris, The American Entrepreneur
  • Doug Heuck, Director of the Southwestern PA Indicators Project, is interviewed on The American Entrepreneur radio show.
  • UCSUR´s Survey Research Program is highlighted (nine minutes into the interview) as Doug and Ron talk about a historic 32 county survey regarding life in the region.

  ---

• December 12, 2011:  America´s most livable city
  By Christopher Booker
  • Sabina Deitrick, Director of our Urban and Regional Analysis Program, is featured in this Financial Times video.

  ---

• Saturday, December 10, 2011:  Region records population gain for 2nd year in a row
  By Gary Rotstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  • Chris Briem´s Pittsburgh migration report is covered in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

  ---

• August 22, 2011:  "Black Papers on African American Health"
  
  • The University Center for Social and Urban Research at the University of Pittsburgh, in partnership with the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and the Allegheny County Health Department, is pleased to publish the second volume of what has come to be known as Pittsburgh´s "Black Papers" - a series of reports documenting the health status of African Americans and whites in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.  Volume one, entitled Black Papers on African American Health in Allegheny County, was published in September 2002.
  • The new volume, Allegheny County Population Health in Black and White, documents the vast differences that exist in the incidence, prevalence, and treatment of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS, among others.  While health conditions have improved in many ways for the population in Allegheny County since publication of Volume one, disparities in health and health care remain widespread.
  • Volume two contains introductory statements by Esther Bush, Thomas Starzl, and Ken Thompson and an Executive Summary by Jeannette South-Paul.  The report also contains an overview to black-white health in the county by Tony Robins and eight chapters on specific health disparities topics.  The report should prove to be a resource for the community, educators, and researchers for many years to come.

  ---

Archived News...

• 2011 PNCIS User´s Conference
  Presentations
• Facebook  /  Twitter  
• Technical Reports
• Publication Search
• Pittsburgh Economic Quarterly (PEQ)
• Pittsburgh Neighborhood & Community Information System (PNCIS)
• The PUB - Pittsburgh Urban Blog
• Urban & Regional Brown Bag Seminar
   
• Pittsburgh Neighborhood Reports
• PittsburghTODAY.org
• UCSUR Radio
• Graduate Certificate in Gerontology
    -Traditional & Online Programs-
• Gerontology Research Registry
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
    -Survey Research Program-
• FIPS 200 Compliant Data Hosting
• Annual Report, 2010-2011

University of Pittsburgh
University Center for Social & Urban Research
3343 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

• Administration
  Richard Schulz, PhD
  Phone: 412-624-5442,   email
• Survey Research Program (SRP)
  Scott R. Beach, PhD
  Phone: 412-624-7785,   email
• Qualitative Data Analysis Program (QDAP)
  Donald Musa, DrPh
  Phone: 412-624-3790
  Laurel Person Mecca, MA
  Phone: 412-624-1613,   email
• Urban and Regional Analysis
  Sabina R. Deitrick, PhD
  Phone: 412-624-3092,   email
• Gerontology
  Richard Schulz, PhD
  Phone: 412-624-5442,   email
• GIS / Visual Analytics
  Ken Sochats, PhD
  Phone: 412-624-9416,   email
• Generations Together (GT)
  Sally Newman, PhD
  Phone: 412-624-7155,   email
• Technology Services
  James R. Lefcakis, MS
  Phone: 412-624-3780,   email

Fax: 412-624-4810