The Center for Urban and Regional Studies was established in 1967 as the Center for Urban Studies to act as a research and public service arm of Youngstown State University.

The mission of the YSU Center for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS) is to integrate professional staff, faculty, students, and other University resources to focus on issues and problems of urban and regional development through an ongoing program of basic and applied research and technical assistance, and providing training for local government, social service organizations and businesses.

The YSU CURS has established six programmatic areas for which goals and objectives have been established. These are: reduction of poverty, local technical assistance, economic development, urban and environmental planning, urban data services, and crime reduction. To support the six program areas, certain staff expertise and services are maintained. These include a data services manager, census data coordinator, a geographic information systems analyst, a cartographer, and a systems administrator. In addition, there are numerous other social science and design disciplines represented on the staff of the YSU CURS. These individuals, research associates, represent the support staff and project managers that conduct research projects initiated from the YSU CURS.

The following are representative services available to the community through the YSU CURS: systematic assessments of the impact of public programs and designs for improved service; data processing and analysis; access to census data, technical reports, and other publications related to urban public management; spatial data analysis and production of GIS documents such as maps and digital displays; assistance to decision-makers in selecting the best alternative program or policy, based on formal assessments of needs, projected environmental and economic impacts, and benefits-cost or cost-effectiveness analysis; training processes, workshops, seminars, and symposia to bring information on urban problems to the attention of public administrators, citizens and faculty; urban planning, including urban design, economic base analysis, demographic analysis, transportation analysis, general and specific land use studies, zoning, and economic revitalization strategy development; and participation in community improvement efforts through information sharing.