IOC Releases 2022 Annual Report

The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is proud to release our 2022 Annual Report. It reflects on the research, learning, events, and people that have empowered the next generation of civic leaders at Boston University and advanced inclusive urban transformation.

“2022 has been a year of growth, as well as one marked by transitions. Last year, Faculty Director Graham Wilson retired. Lucy Hutyra, Professor of Earth & Environment and a longstanding Initiative on Cities collaborator, stepped into the role for the year. A global search for Graham’s permanent successor led to the exciting appointment of Loretta Lees, who will join BU in the fall as Professor of Sociology.”

Over the past year, the IOC:

• Continued to lead the Menino Survey of Mayors, with the 2021 survey exploring mayoral responses to pandemic recovery, equity and small business, housing and homelessness, and closing the racial wealth gap. The team shared insights in multiple venues, from an online forum with The Rockefeller Foundation that reached more than 15,000 viewers to a private briefing with White House staff.
• Created a new Safety, Justice, and Health Learning Community, under the leadership of Jessica Simes, Assistant Professor of Sociology, and Jonathan Jay, Assistant Professor in Community Health Sciences, convening a series of multidisciplinary sessions with faculty and graduate students to share research and foster community.
• Catalyzed and sponsored impactful urban research through our Early Stage Urban Research Awards, awarding 11 projects.
• Continued the MetroBridge experiential learning program, which embeds real-world projects for municipalities and community organizations into existing courses at BU, completing 13 projects with 449 students for cities and community groups on topics ranging from history to health equity.
• Hosted critical conversations and reached out to a global audience through our seminar series, convening experts from BU and beyond, including:
  • A university-wide summit to bring together BU leaders, faculty, and staff to share models and lessons learned in creating experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to help them find their passion and develop professional skills. The summit emphasized learning that engages external partners and creates opportunities for civic and societal impact, exploring what works, workshopping ideas for improvement, and forging new intra-institutional partnerships.
  • A panel co-hosted with the Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library on the real-world impacts of place names and boundaries.
  • A student-led Boston Mayoral Student Forum featuring Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi-George, as well as a Gubernatorial Primary Student Forum featuring Sonia Chang-Díaz.
• Expanded our partnerships with municipal governments in our region to provide BU students with paid summer opportunities with the cities of Boston, Chelsea, and Providence.
• Awarded first Initiative On Cities Student Prize to a graduating Urban Studies Minor.

“As we look ahead, we are excited by the arrival of Professor Lees, one of the world’s leading experts on gentrification, to bring her energy, network, and new ideas. We look forward to forging new global ties, spearheading more ground-breaking research, and supporting the growth of urban experiential learning across BU.”