The creation of CUGS is a timely and forward-looking initiative.  While the proportion of the world’s population in urban areas was only 13% in 1900 and 29% in 1950, slightly over half of the world’s 6.7 billion people live in cities in 2007.  By 2030, five billion of the earth’s eight billion people will be living in cities; 95 percent of this urban growth will take place in developing countries, and two billion urbanites in the developing world will live in slums.  The new urban world we live in is expanding rapidly. With globalization accelerating in the late 20^th century and into the present one, our new urban world is rapidly globalizing.  This makes the 21^st century a Global Urban Age, characterized by rapid cross-boundary capital mobility, massive transnational migration, extensive economic and spatial inequalities, escalating racial and ethnic tension, exploding mega-cities of 10 million or more people in developing countries, and elevated environmental degradation.  These major challenges not only provide valuable opportunities to study their causes and consequences, but also offer significant topics for making sense of the multiple facets of, and strong linkages between, the pressing urban and global issues of our time.

While the shifting global urban landscape provides a macro demographic background to CUGS, changes in Hartford coupled with Trinity’s location in and connection to the city highlight the more immediate urgency and rationale for establishing CUGS.   Despite its relatively small size, Hartford is the capital of Connecticut and a major global and national center of the insurance industry.  Hartford has experienced protracted deindustrialization, growing international in-migration, and profound inequalities in employment and economic opportunities, exposing students and faculty firsthand to many of the urban challenges faced worldwide. However, the city that Trinity calls home has tremendous racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity, and a myriad of community organizations, health institutions, educational facilities, and planning and (re)development projects, all of which present opportunities for urban studies and community engagement at Trinity.

In the other direction, Trinity exerts a myriad of positive economic and educational impacts on Greater Hartford.  Although the College has received a great deal of publicity for its leadership in creating the $175 million Learning Corridor, its faculty, staff, and students contribute to the well-being of Hartford and its residents in many ways.  It’s estimated that Trinity has an annual economic impact in the Greater Hartford region of $219 million, including $120 million in direct spending and $99 million in indirect spending.  Trinity College accounts for nearly 800 jobs, making it a major private employer in Hartford.  Trinity has been a key partner in the Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance (SINA), which has been instrumental in rehabilitating rental units and houses and upgrading city neighborhoods.  About 500 students participate in the Community Learning Initiative (CLI), which links students with individuals and organizations in Greater Hartford. Roughly half of Trinity students serve internships in Greater Hartford, and half of the student body participates in community service.  Trinity also provides roughly $860,000 in financial aid to 36 Hartford students.

Strategy and Benefits