Who We Are

We work closely with the University, the City of Hartford and its surrounding communities, and the State of Connecticut to facilitate discussions and actions that address mutually determined community needs, and to equip UConn Hartford students with research skills and opportunities to best serve their communities.

Our community outreach and engagement help residents of Hartford and its surrounding communities who want to improve their quality of life through collaborative use of UConn resources specific to urban-related research. Our success is reflected in the increasing number of community partnerships we have established, the communities we serve, and our facilitation of projects that bridge community, students, and research.

What began as the Sustainable Global Cities Initiative at UConn Hartford is now Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity (RRCRE)!

Research involving the city is inherently diverse and interdisciplinary. Now, with its updated name and mission, RRCRE adds a renewed focus on issues of racism and equity that are so often linked with urban studies. RRCRE embraces a broad and inclusive definition of urban topics and aims to bring scholars and researchers together to tackle salient challenges facing today’s cities.

As one of the few research centers with a university-wide focus that is headquartered at a Regional Campus, RRCRE is proud to be a part of UConn Hartford and its mission to make University people and resources more accessible to the surrounding community. In addition to scholarly research on city-related topics around the world, RRCRE encompasses a special focus on outreach involving the people and city of Hartford, Connecticut where it is proudly located.

Recent News

RRCRE Assistant Director Co-Presents Research-Based Policy Suggestions to Connecticut General Assembly in Second Annual "Moving Beyond Implications" Conference

RRCRE Invited to Present on Hartford-Centric GIS Project at International Conference

RRCRE Assistant Director Rachel Smith Hale and Director David G. Embrick at the 2024 Urban Transitions Conference

RRCRE was honored to present at the 2024 Urban Transitions conference in Sitges, Spain, sponsored by Elsevier. RRCRE Assistant Director Rachel Smith Hale presented on one of the Initiative's most impactful projects with her talk "The Hartford Love Your Block Project: Using ArcGIS Storymaps to Capture Neighborhood Belonging and Change." The scholarly feedback received on the project will help inform the exciting and expansive next phase of the Love Your Block project, which has received funding from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for a two-year extension.

UConn Hartford's New Community Intersections and Innovation Space Will Feature New RRCRE Research Suite

As part of UConn Hartford's expansion and deepening investment in the city of Hartford, the University will soon be opening a new 51,000 square foot Community Intersections and Innovation Space adjacent to the downtown XL Center. RRCRE is excited to be a founding 'anchor' tenant of this campus expansion, which will feature several community-focused university research units working together in newly-renovated office, lab, and collaborative spaces.

RRCRE Receives Provost's Inaugural Institutional Transformation Award in Recognition of its Community-Engaged Scholarship

The University of Connecticut's Provost Awards for Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship (PAECES) celebrate every year the significant efforts of faculty, staff, students, teams, and community partners who work to address critical community issues through collaborative, mutually beneficial, and creative exchange of knowledge and resources.

This year, RRCRE was honored with PAECES' inaugural Institutional Transformation Award, which honors those who transform UConn’s ability to align instruction, research, practice, and values in service of the common good. Read more about RRCRE and the Institutional Transformation Award in this article from UConn Today!

UConn Today: Grant Will Help Break Down Barriers in Access to Technology in Hartford

A collaborative effort between the Research on Resilient Cites, Racism, and Equity (RRCRE) initiative at UConn Hartford and the Computer Science and Engineering Department in the UConn School of Engineering has resulted in the institution receiving a $2.86 million federal grant that will help provide technology, internet access, and skill training to traditionally underserved students in the Hartford area.

UConn Today: Closer Collaboration and Community Outreach for Urban Sustainability, Together at Hartford Campus

The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA), based at UConn Avery Point, will now be partly housed within RRCRE at UConn Hartford, as the institute takes on a growing number of projects focusing on sustainability and resilience in urban centers.

Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity