2022 Early Stage Urban Research Awards

The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of our eighth annual request for proposals for early stage urban research. These seed grants support early stage academic research endeavors focused on urban challenges and urban populations, both domestic and global.

We received 30 applications from 16 schools and departments at BU, and we are thrilled to announce we have funded 11 projects, including 7 led by BU graduate students and 4 by BU faculty. Topics include air pollution in cities, air quality in Boston Public Schools, health services for tiny homes housing the previously homeless, the experience of pretrial detainees, gentrification’s effects on social networks, and the characteristics of informal settlements facing eviction in India.

Environment/Climate

Climate finance and climate justice in small and midsize cities in the United States

PI: Claudia Viridiana Diezmartínez Peregrina, PhD Student, Department of Earth & Environment, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences; BU URBAN Program
Co-PI: Anne Short Gianotti, Associate Professor, Department of Earth & Environment, College of Arts & Sciences

Whether and how cities are able to secure climate funding can significantly influence the effectiveness of climate policies, which have profound implications for social justice in cities. Using a mixed-methods approach, Claudia Diezmartínez and Anne Short Gianotti will examine the dynamics and justice impacts of climate finance in small (25,000-100,000 residents) and midsize cities (100,000-300,000 residents) in the United States. Their goal is to understand how smaller urban areas are financing climate mitigation efforts and how these financing decisions serve to reproduce or challenge existing inequities and vulnerabilities in these cities. Learn more.

Indoor air quality, thermal comfort, energy use, and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 engineering controls in Boston Public Schools

PI: Patricia Fabian, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health
Co-PI: Lucy Hutyra, Professor, Department of Earth & Environment, College of Arts & Sciences

Schools have many competing interests to keep their buildings operational and healthy for students and staff, including maintaining thermal comfort, good indoor air quality (IAQ), and minimizing energy consumption. Poor IAQ is associated with school absenteeism and health outcomes such as asthma exacerbations, while poor thermal comfort has been linked to student learning and test performance. In partnership with Boston Public Schools, Professors Patricia Fabian and Lucy Hutyra will compile data from a network of ~5,000 sensors installed in classrooms and on roofs of school buildings. The database will be the basis to study risk and mitigation factors impacting indoor air quality, thermal comfort, health, and energy consumption, including SARS-CoV-2 engineering controls, and sustainability, climate mitigation and adaptation interventions. Learn more

Small Particles Big Impacts: Using Novel Low-Cost Monitors to Characterize Air Pollution Exposure in Urban Communities

PI: Sean C. Mueller, PhD Student, Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health; BU URBAN Program
Co-PIs: Kevin Lane, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health
Patrick Kinney, Professor, Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health
Jeffrey Geddes, Assistant Professor, Department of Earth and Environment

Urban air pollution is a serious public health threat; residing in urban neighborhoods near sources of ultrafine particles (UFPs) has consistently been shown to result in a greater risk of elevated health issues compared to communities further away from these sources. Currently there are no U.S. standards for UFP and recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Integrated Science Assessment reports have consistently stated that improved UFP exposure monitoring is needed. Sean Mueller & collaborators will deploy a novel monitoring method to characterize UFP concentration and composition by field testing a passive aerosol sampler in areas with vulnerable urban populations impacted by major transportation sources. Learn more

Development

Health

A Prospective Mixed Methods Study of Maternal and Child Well-being and Risk of Relapse in the First Year Postpartum

PI: Ruth Paris, Associate Professor, Clinical Practice, School of Social Work; Associate Director for Research, BU Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being
Co-PI: Mei Elansary, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Co-Investigator: Eileen Costello, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine; Chief of Ambulatory Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center

Given the risks of relapse, overdose, death, family dissolution and trauma for mothers in substance use recovery, Paris, Elansary and Costello will track the experiences of a group of mothers and babies from the SOFAR clinic at Boston Medical Center during the first year after delivery using a prospective mixed methods design. The project’s goals are to identify short- and long-term risk and resiliency factors for further study and intervention development. Learn more

PES Portal: a community engaged research project to help patients and families understand psychiatric emergency services and have an informed voice in care decision-making

PI: Carolina-Nicole Herrera, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management, School of Public Health
Co-PI: Alison Duncan, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine; Director of Psychiatric Emergency Services, Boston Medical Center

Since the start of the pandemic, children seeking psychiatric emergency care have been presenting with higher levels of acuity/severity, requiring more intensive mental health services. Thousands of Boston area families are being asked to make stressful decisions about mental health care that they may not understand. Herrera and Duncan will investigate whether a community-engaged, mental health literacy intervention can improve the shared decision making between guardians and clinicians during a pediatric psychological emergency visit. Learn more

Recommendations for Health Services Delivery Options for ECHO (Emergency Covid Housing Opportunities) Village

PI: Julia Noguchi, DrPH Candidate, Department of Community Health Science, School of Public Health
Co-PI: Keith McInnes, Research Associate Professor, Department of Health Law, Policy and Management, School of Public Health

People experiencing homelessness (PEH) commonly experience “tri-morbidity,” with the effects of physical illness, mental illness, and substance use disorder combining to produce complex healthcare needs. Physical and behavioral health issues for PEH or the precariously housed have been further exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic-related stresses. Noguchi aims to identify how health and harm-reduction services for PEH in Rhode Island can be optimally organized and delivered by a local housing non-profit’s tiny home village community, potentially increasing housing stability and health outcomes in this population. Learn more

Justice

Placemaking and Placekeeping

Race

See funded projects from past years here!