Joint Usage/Research Center
UReC has been certified by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a "Joint Usage/Research Center" and is promoting urban research under the name of the “Platform for Leading-edge Urban Studies.”
The MEXT certifies as "Joint Usage/Research Centers" those research institutions that possess valuable research resources that should be shared by researchers across the country and that show high research achievements worthy of serving as the core of joint research by researchers from across the country beyond the boundaries of universities. The Urban Research Plaza of Osaka City University (URP), which is one of UReC's predecessors, was recognized as one of the "Joint Usage/Research Centers" in 2014 under the name of “Platform for Leading-edge Urban Studies.”
URP was certified as one of the "Joint Usage/Research Centers" for two reasons. One is that URP possesses a large number of valuable research resources related to urban studies. The other reason is that URP was certified as one of the centers of the "Global COE," which once existed as a research promotion program of the MEXT, during years from FY2007 to FY2011 and had achieved many valuable research results in the field of international and interdisciplinary urban studies under the theme of "Reconstructing Cities by Cultural Creation and Social Inclusion.
UReC has taken over URP's role as a "Joint Usage/ Research Center," and is engaged in a variety of research activities focused on the city with the goal of developing theoretical and practical models for a “resilient city of the 21st century.” Three major initiatives of the URP as a "Joint Usage/Collaborative Research Center" are as follows.
(1) Promotion of Collaborative Research
We have called for collaborative research projects focused on urban problems and subsidized a portion of the research expenses for selected collaborative research projects. The results of selected collaborative research projects have been published as booklets.
(2) Training of Young Researchers
We have conducted open recruitment for special researchers for young researchers who are interested in urban studies. Those young researchers who are selected as “Special (Young) Research Fellows” are provided with salaries and research expenses.
(3) Promotion of International Collaborative Research Targeting East Asian Cities
We have established collaborative research networks with research institutions in East Asian cities such as Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Yogyakarta, and promoted international collaborative research targeting East Asian cities in collaboration with those research institutions.