Meet Levi Chen, 2025 City of Boston Office of Climate Resilience Intern

The Boston University Initiative on Cities is happy to announce that Levi Chen (CAS ’27) is this year’s City of Boston Office of Climate Resilience Intern.

The Office of Climate Resilience is a newly designated office of the Environment, Energy, and Open Space (EEOS) Cabinet. Its work focuses on enhancing the city’s preparedness for climate impacts, implementing resilience strategies identified in the Climate Ready Boston plans, securing funding for climate resilience projects, and integrating climate resilience into policy and regulations. Additionally, the Office fosters community engagement and education about climate resilience, working to ensure that climate resilience initiatives are equitable, inclusive, and prioritize support for Boston’s environmental justice populations, who are most affected by climate change. Levi will be working to help the new office with communications materials and promoting the Office’s work on adapting and preparing the City of Boston for climate impacts.

Levi Chen is a junior majoring in Architectural Studies (BA) with a minor in Urban Studies. Levi has lived in Shanghai, Singapore, and California. He is one of the cofounders of the BU Urbanism Club (BUrbanists), which informs students about local urban issues and advocates for a safer, greener campus. Levi is particularly interested in community engagement and the relationship between local governments and their residents. In his free time, he can be found riding his bike and cooking for friends.

What made you want to apply for this internship?

Through my time with the BU Urbanism Club, I’ve been introduced to the larger urbanist community of Greater Boston. I’ve marshalled a bike ride with Cambridge Bike Safety and Quad Bikes, attended public meetings where I met many wonderful people from the City of Boston’s planning department, attended a talk from the Boston Climate Action Network, and more. Everyone I’ve met has been incredibly welcoming, and their deep passion for advocacy and urbanism has rubbed off on me. This community is one of the biggest reasons why I’m so interested in urbanism today, so applying for this internship felt like a way to give back and show appreciation for their work on urban issues. Furthermore, the local work of the Office of Climate Resilience on infrastructure aligns with both my interest in advocacy and my studies in architecture.

Tell us about your interest in cities.

When I was 13, my family moved from the bustling urban hub of Singapore to the quiet suburbs of California. While in Singapore, I could go on walks to the mall or the park. In California, I was completely dependent on cars. We couldn’t even walk around the block, as my street had no pedestrian sidewalks. Moving to Boston was like a return ‘home’ back into city living, and I wanted to learn more about the issues that I’ve experienced: car dependency, pedestrian accessibility, and public housing (which I became interested in after writing an essay on British council housing for AH 201: Understanding Architecture). This led to the founding of the BU Urbanism Club with other like-minded urbanists. I’ve learnt so much from other students and guest speakers, and this interest led me to minor in urban studies.

How did you first become interested in climate resilience?

Extreme heat has always been a constant in my life. Singapore has relentless heat year-round, California has its wildfires, and Boston’s scorching summers are best paired with an apartment that has a barely working ceiling fan. Last summer, I was gifted a copy of The City Rebooted, which highlighted ways Singapore was fighting climate change through real, tangible actions: implementing more green spaces that reduce the heat island effect by a whole 2 degrees Celsius, increasing the barrier to entry for car ownership to encourage eco-friendly modes of transit (like taking the bus), and more. Reading about these changes made me optimistic for the future and realize that there are tangible paths forward to protect and preserve our built environment from the effects of climate change.

What are you most looking forward to this summer?

I’m most excited about exploring the relationship between government, residents, and advocates from the government perspective! To be more specific, I want to learn more about the thought process behind what information is shared on official government channels (social media, newsletters, websites, etc.) and when. I also look forward to conducting site visits and interacting with the people of Boston from this new perspective, and gaining a firsthand look at how the Office of Climate Resilience’s policies and projects impact their daily lives.