The Center for Community-Based Population Health Research (CCPHR) provides a unique perspective on community-level population health where place, methodology, and theory contribute important dimensions to the research in question. Research areas include a range of substantive fields where place matters––sociology, health policy, and epidemiology, for example. CCPHR offers a comparative perspective on the difference that place makes to better quantify key neighborhood-level processes that shape ill-health, health-related behavior, health services, and policy. This inclusive approach increases the likelihood of identifying ways in which structural inequalities, which operate in both urban and non-urban environments, contribute to disproportionate burdens and consequences related to substance use, mental health, homelessness, and infectious disease risk.