applied projects & community engagement.

Urban Studies students have participated in a number of applied research projects for community organizations. Faculty and staff from the Center for Public Affairs Research often directed or assisted in applied research projects involving Urban Studies graduate students. Recent projects include:

• Updating the development plan for North Omaha for the Omaha Economic Development Corporation;
• Determining interest and potential for a neighborhood association in Council Bluffs; Researching the characteristics of two neighborhood associations for the Midtown Neighborhood Alliance;
• Assisting the La Vista Community Foundation collect household survey and housing unit information on the redevelopment potential of a neighborhood;
• Helping Omaha by Design facilitate the formation of the Benson Neighborhood Alliance by collecting survey information from households and businesses, inventorying housing conditions, and analyzing economic and demographic data; and
• Assisting the Neighborhood Center for Greater Omaha assess the possibility of forming a neighborhood alliance in North Omaha.

The Benson Neighborhood Alliance project in particular demonstrates the level of faculty and student involvement in community projects. UNO faculty directed six US students on research activities for a special class, and three more students did their capstone projects based on this research. And one PhD student conducted focus group sessions with Benson area neighborhood associations as part of a doctoral research methods class.

Other recent projects include:

• Dahlman Neighborhood Association (Omaha)
• Orchard Hill Neighborhood Association (Omaha)