Executive Director Katharine Lusk Leads Panel at SXSW

Initiative on Cities Executive Director Katharine Lusk led a panel at SXSW earlier this month focused on mayors’ initiatives to advance racial equity in their cities. The panel, America’s Mayors: Fighting for Racial Equity, featured Initiative partners Leon Andrews, the Director of the Race, Equity And Leadership (REAL) at the National League of Cities; Dr. […]

Initiative on Cities Director Returns from Leading Executive Education in China

Each year, the Initiative on Cities partners with the Boston University Questrom School of Business to host an executive education program that trains business leaders to think like cities. This six-month program focuses on navigating urban power and influence for a group of engineers, architects, and designers from the renowned global firm, Arup. The object […]

Applications Open for Spring 2018 RFP

The Initiative on Cities is pleased to announce our Spring 2018 Request for Proposals (RFP) for our Early Stage Urban Research Awards. These seed grants support research addressing urban challenges and populations in the US and abroad. The Awards are open to all faculty and graduate students of Boston University Schools, and interdisciplinary collaboration is […]

2017 Menino Survey of Mayors Reveals Top Challenges

On January 23, 2018, the Boston University Initiative on Cities announced the results of its 2017 Menino Survey of Mayors, a nationally representative survey of mayoral thoughts and challenges on today’s top issues. Three BU political science professors, Katherine Einstein, David Glick, and Maxwell Palmer, led the research by interviewing 115 mayors from 39 states […]

Event Recap: When Tokyo Went Electric

On December 6th, the Boston University Initiative on Cities co-sponsored the lecture “When Tokyo Went Electric: Electricity Theft and the Materiality of Modern Life” with Professor Ian Miller of Harvard University. Miller describes Japan’s journey to become one of the most “electrified” places on Earth through fossil fuels and the debate of energy as property. […]

Call for Applications for IOC Visiting Scholars

The Initiative on Cities invites applications for its Visiting Scholars Program for academic year 2018-2019. The program offers scholars the opportunity to spend up to one year at Boston University for independent research on urban challenges and urban populations in the U.S and abroad. Successful candidates benefit from the Initiative’s programs on urban leadership and […]

Submit Proposals for BARI Conference at BU on 4/27

The BU Initiative on Cities is partnering with the Boston Area Research Initiative (BARI) to host their spring conference, Confronting Inequality and Economic Mobility: Data-Driven Lessons From Boston, For Boston. We are looking for faculty, students, and members of the private and public sectors to submit ideas for panels, presentations, and posters. The submission deadline […]

Former Lord Mayor of London Fiona Woolf Speaks at IOC

On November 27th, former Lord Mayor of London Fiona Woolf visited the Initiative on Cities to discuss her efforts on sustainability and innovation within London’s electricity industry. Woolf began to speak on a Lord mayor’s numerous responsibilities, one being a “champion of the city brand” to creating opportunities within the city. Though, measuring cities can […]

IOC Co-Hosts UK-International Metro Mayors’ Summit in London

From December 4th to 6th, the Boston University Initiative on Cities co-hosted the first-ever UK-International Metro Mayors’ Summit with the Centre for Cities, a UK think tank, and Citi, the global founding partner. Five mayors from the United States and six metro mayors from the UK met in small round-table groups to share practical advice […]