History

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:

1. Provide thinking around and responses to historic preservation and general infrastructure problems in Northeast Ohio's towns and cities.

2. 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.