Addressing urban health in Detroit, New York City, and Seattle through community-based participatory research partnerships.

Objective: This study describes key activities integral to the development of 3 community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships.

Methods: We compared findings from individual case studies conducted at 3 urban research centers (URCs) to identify crosscutting adaptations of a CBPR approach in the first 4 years of the partnerships' development.

Results: Activities critical in partnership development include sharing decision-making, defining principles of collaboration, establishing research priorities, and securing funding.