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Health disparities are rooted in the social determinants of health. The health care system alone cannot solve the problem.

That simple truth is behind a decision to merge two vital entities: the University at Buffalo’s Center for Urban Studies, focused on fostering community and economic development in traditionally marginalized neighborhoods, and the Community Health Equity Research Institute, focused on reversing health disparities in those same neighborhoods.

Founded in 1987 by ., professor of urban and regional planning in the School of Architecture and Planning, the center conducts action-based research to revitalize underdeveloped neighborhoods.

The institute, established in 2019, engages the expertise of UB health sciences researchers, in collaboration with communities of color, to address health inequities through community-based participatory research. 

The move of the center into the institute reflects the fact that health outcomes are based in the social determinants of health. “They include poverty, neighborhoods, food access, the criminal justice system, educational opportunities and others,” says , SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and director of the institute. “The success of our institute is going to depend on us being able to engage all the disciplines that are beyond the health sciences.”

“The idea of the connection between health outcomes and the neighborhood you live in is not abstract,” says Taylor. “The very way that we build cities in the U.S. is racist. The policies and decisions that create the conditions that exist inside these neighborhoods and communities make it appear like it’s a natural process, rather than the decisions and choices of policymakers. It creates conditions that give rise to these undesirable outcomes.”

But neighborhoods can also be transformed, Taylor says, pointing to an abandoned lot that he and his students began converting 15 years ago, and that is now a welcoming park with a whimsical entrance sign, benches and a vegetable garden.

“Our story is not one of doom and gloom,” he insists. “It’s one of hope and possibility.”

And, Taylor and Murphy note, it’s a story that’s happening because of UB’s strong support.

“It’s a demonstration of the commitment on the part of the university that says the health issues among African Americans are an urgent question,” says Taylor. “We are aligning our forces on this campus to play a significant role in partnership with the African American community to do something about it.”