This study employed a two-stage exploratory research design to empirically collect, verify and analyze the challenges and barriers that influence the Cooperative Extension Service's ability to deliver educational programming and resources to urban residents. Each stage of the study was designed to build on the previous stage and to accomplish different objective. Stage one and two were designed to identify the barriers and challenges. The study found that the barriers and challenges that the Cooperative Extension Service encounters in its work in cities and metropolitan settings fall into five large theme areas, with a number of sub-themes. The first is the Environmental Conditions in which the Cooperative Extension Service operates and its staff work. The factors identified separated into two distinct and distinguishable sub-areas. The first set was around the Urban Context and the second were around the Cooperative Extension Service's History and Culture. The second large barrier area was the Cooperative Extension Service Leadership, which encompasses the organizational leadership responsibilities or actions that affect the work of the staff and the organization in cities and metropolitan settings. The Cooperative Extension Service Community Operations in communities was the third place the study identified barriers. The Cooperative Extension Service Community Operations include such things as staffing, local offices and their operations, as well as program content and delivery. This barrier area broke down into five sub-areas. Two of them were around staffing---the paid Cooperative Extension Service Staff and the unpaid Volunteer staff. Two were around educational programming---the Educational Program Content and the Educational Program Delivery Methods. The fifth sub-barrier was urban Best Practices. The fourth large barrier area the study identified was the Experience of the Community with the Cooperative Extension Service. The two elements that study found that influenced the Experience of the Community with the Cooperative Extension Service were Extension's community Partnerships and the Community Engagement Models that Extension uses to interact with urban residents and communities. The last large barrier area that the study identified was the Cooperative Extension Service's Community Image in urban centers. This dissertation provides a discussion of these five large barrier areas, and their sub-areas, and puts forth detailed lists of specific barriers or challenges that the Cooperative Extension Service encounters in each of them. It concludes with a discussion of policy implications and recommendations for potential next steps, along with a few suggestions about potential future research to continue to move this field of study and the Cooperative Extension Service forward in its ability to provide expanded and relevant educational programs and resources to urban residents. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]