Officially founded in 1972, the Centre for Research in Regional Planning and Development (Centre de Recherche en Aménagement et Développement) groups over a hundred professors, graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral trainees and professionals interested in issues of urban planning and regional and local development. CRAD's principal function is to promote, supervise and circulate research in these areas. Although several studies have an essentially methodological content, the experimental nature of CRAD's projects is grounded in the Quebec City region, thereby reinforcing the role which Laval University must play in its immediate environment