Beyond the Classroom: Roshan Sivaraman (CFA’26, Pardee’26)
As a dual degree student pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Roshan Sivaraman (CFA’26, Pardee’26) knows all about exploring and diving into different interests. Over the summer, Roshan joined the City of Boston’s Office of Climate Resilience as a fellow, working on one of the city’s most transformational projects to take on the daily effects of climate change: the installation of 30 bus shelters with green roofs set up along one of Boston’s most utilized bus routes.
Wausau, bring out the porta potties
At Monday’s Committee of the Whole on homelessness at City Hall, I brought up the lack of portable toilets in our city and noted that providing them would be low-hanging fruit for the city council to help people in need. In regard to this week’s Committee of the Whole, a professor at Boston University, Dr. Katherine Levine Einstein, sent a letter addressed to the Wausau City Council, which is embedded at the bottom of this column.
Tracking responses to the MBTA Communities Act
Einstein’s class is part of the MetroBridge experiential learning program, run through the Initiative on Cities, which aims to support both the BU community and local governmental organizations through course projects. Einstein’s students were assigned four towns where the law is initially being enforced — Arlington, Newton, Brookline and Milton. There they attended public hearings and town meetings, interviewed local officials and advocates on both sides of the debate, reviewed previous meetings and plans, and observed local online forums.
Assoc. Prof. Augsberger Takes on New Role as Associate Dean for Doctoral Education
Associate Professor Astraea Augsberger assumes leadership of the PhD in Social Work program at Boston University School of Social Work’s (BUSSW) this month. The role was previously held by Associate Professor Daniel P. Miller who fostered change and growth in the program since July 2019, including developing and teaching classes while mentoring students.
IOC 10th Anniversary Celebration
BU’s Initiative on Cities celebrated its 10th anniversary on April 1 at the Center for Computing & Data Sciences. Featured were highlights from the past decade of supporting urban research and avenues for students to connect and excel as leaders. Speakers shared future goals and initiatives, including the Urban-H research agenda, launched in spring 2023, the cornerstone of the IoC’s work for the next five years.
2023 Menino Survey of Mayors: Building for a Green Future
Passed in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) features unprecedented federal investment in environmental initiatives. It provides around $370 billion in resources for clean energy technology. To better understand local communities’ experience of the IRA, Boston University’s Initiative on Cities surveyed a nationally representative sample of 118 mayors leading cities. These interviews give us insights into mayoral experiences, as well as the experiences of individual households trying to access IRA resources.
Derek Hyra to Receive the 2024 Marilyn J. Gittell Activist Scholar Award
Dr. Derek Hyra (American University) has been selected to receive the 2024 Marilyn J. Gittell Activist Scholar Award. The award is co-sponsored by SAGE and the Urban Affairs Association (UAA).
Gastronomy Student Helps Bring New Life to City Farmers Markets through Mayor’s Office Fellowship
When Andrea Catania first heard about an opportunity to join the Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, she didn’t think her Master of Arts in Gastronomy studies would qualify her. But she soon learned the program was open to graduate students of all types, and with the help of the BU Initiative on Cities, she was able to land a summer fellowship that gave her eight weeks to make a difference in the lives of Boston residents.
Building a Better Boston
BU’s campuses aren’t the only place where the Arts & Sciences community learns—Greater Boston itself is a classroom, laboratory, and workplace. Governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private sector companies are partners, and their challenges—from education to the environment—provide opportunities to contribute to solving real-world problems.
Building Better Cities
Two global trends collided in 2023: the warming of the atmosphere and the growth of urban areas. Phoenix, Ariz., the fifth-largest city in the US, reached 110 degrees on 31 consecutive days. Heat-related hospitalizations spiked and people burned themselves on scorching asphalt. Texas, home to several of the country’s largest and fastest-growing cities, experienced the second-hottest summer ever, leading to a BBC headline that asked if the Lone Star State could “become too hot for humans.”