The Urban@UW initiative brings together labs that study urban issues from across the University of Washington. Urban@UW works with scholars, policymakers, and community stakeholders in order to strengthen the connection between research and solutions to urban issues through cross-disciplinary and cross-sector collaborative research.
Key functions of Urban@UW include amplifying public awareness of ongoing projects, connecting researchers with outside constituencies, providing staff and administrative support services, and providing pilot funding and fundraising assistance.
Multiple BE labs are involved, including the Northwest Center for Livable Communitites, the Integrated Design Lab, the Design Machine Group, the Chandigarh Urban Lab, the Urban Form Lab, the Center for Asian Urbanism, the Center for Integrated Design, the Informal Urban Communities Initiative, the Center for Preservation and Adaptive Reuse, the Center for Education and Research in Construction, the Urban Infrastructure Lab, the Green Futures Lab, the Institute for Hazards Mitigation Planning and Research, the Urban Ecology Research Lab, and the Carbon Leadership Forum.