COVID-19 & Cities: Multilingual Learners & Families

On Wednesday, May 20, 2020, the Initiative on Cities (IOC) and Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development hosted a webinar to discuss the challenges of remote learning on multilingual learners and their families, and what’s being done to support them. Christine Leider, Clinical Assistant Professor Language Education & Program Director for Bilingual Education […]

2020 COVID-19 Urban Research to Action Award: The “Aging Disaster” of COVID19: The Association of Social Isolation and Loneliness to Perceived Health, Psychological Wellbeing, and Material Hardship Among Boston Residents Age 60 and Older

PI: Judith G. Gonyea, PhD, MPH, Professor, BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) Co-PI: Arden O’ Donnell, PhD Student, BUSSW This project, in collaboration with the City of Boston’s Age Strong Commission, explores the experiences of Boston residents age 60 and older during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given their risk of severe […]

2020 COVID-19 Urban Research-to-Action Award: Race, Place, and Policing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-City Study

PI: Jessica T. Simes, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, BU College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) Co-PI: Jaquelyn L. Jahn, PhD, Visiting Scholar, Department of Sociology, BU CAS and PhD candidate, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Low-level policing—which includes enforcement and arrests based on quality-of-life offenses […]

2020 COVID-19 Urban Research-to-Action Award: How Are Cities Responding to the COVID-19 Housing Crisis?

PI: Katherine Levine Einstein, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, BU College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) Co-PI: Maxwell Palmer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Sciences, CAS Many cities have responded to the housing crisis caused by COVID-19 with various protections and programs, ranging from financial relief funds for housing costs to eviction […]

2020 COVID-19 Urban Research-to-Action Award: From the Pediatric Frontlines: Basic Needs, Access to COVID19 Supports & Equity Among Families with Young Children in the Boston Area

PI: Megan Sandel, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, BU School of Medicine (BUSM), Boston Medical Center (BMC), and Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Health, BU School of Public Health (SPH) Co-PI: Deborah A. Frank, MD, Professor in Child Health and Well-Being, Department of Pediatrics, BUSM, BMC, and Assistant Professor, Department of Community Health […]

2020 COVID-19 Urban Research-to-Action Award: Assessing City Health Care Workers’ SARS-CoV2 Transmission to Families

PI: Diana Ceballos, PhD, MS, CIH, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health, BU School of Public Health (SPH) Co-PIs: Jessica Leibler, DrPH, ScM, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health, SPH; and Jennifer Greif Green, PhD, MA, Associate Professor, Special Education Program, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development Co-Is: Jonathan Levy, ScD, Professor and Chair, […]

COVID-19 Research to Action Seed Grant Awards

The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is proud to announce the recipients of its COVID-19 Urban Research-to-Action call for proposals. Five faculty-led teams will receive seed grant awards to help catalyze new research focused on understanding and addressing the disproportionate impacts the COVID-19 pandemic is having on marginalized urban residents. Selected teams represent the […]

MetroBridge Announces Menu of Project Options for Local Governments and Community Organizations

Despite the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that the financial and operational impacts on local governments and community organizations will be severe. In acknowledgement of these difficult times ahead, the Initiative on Cities wants to make you aware of the ways the MetroBridge program can help you fill capacity gaps and continue to move projects forward. We have developed a “menu” of […]

Racial Justice in Cities – IOC Statement

Cities exist to bring people together. As we have learned during these last few months, a city devoid of people is not a city at all. But it is not enough that we inhabit the same space. Everyone has the right to live in and move through our cities, to be safe, secure and welcome […]

2020 Early Stage Urban Research Awards

In Spring 2020, the Initiative on Cities issued its sixth request for proposals to support early stage academic research endeavors focused on urban challenges and urban populations, both domestic and global. We received 27 applications from 16 schools and departments at BU, and and we are thrilled to announce we have funded ten projects, including […]