BU’s 5 NSF Grant Winners Are Changing Conversations in Robotics, Computing, Mass Incarceration, Neurology, and More
Behind their research on topics ranging from mass incarceration to the brain and lungs to delivery robots, five experts and scientists at Boston University have received Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance scientific research in their fields. The researchers receiving the awards are also laying the foundation for the next generation of scientists by using the funding to support students and youth educational programs and to diversify STEM.
Alice Coleman Obituary: Geographer who championed the idea of ‘defensible space’ in order to improve on the problematic designs of some high-rise estates
The geographer Alice Coleman, who has died aged 99, set out to prove that British modernist high-rise council estates were failing because their layout lacked “defensible space”, and that their problematic design reduced social interaction while encouraging crime and anti-social behaviour. In her book Utopia on Trial: Vision and Reality in Planned Housing (1985) Alice condemned such estates as failed idylls, criticising authoritarian and paternalistic planners within the Ministry of Housing, local government and the Department of the Environment. As an alternative she promoted modifications that she believed would tackle some of the problems inadvertently created by poor design.
Most mayors say housing is the biggest challenge in U.S. cities, survey finds
After a tumultuous year in the housing market amid inflation and soaring interest rates, local governments of major U.S. cities are facing a slew of economic challenges. According to the Boston University Initiative on Cities’ 2022 Menino Survey of Mayors, which polled 118 mayors from U.S. cities with more than 75,000 residents, housing costs are at the forefront of those challenges, with 81% of mayors indicating that the issue is among their cities’ top economic priorities.
Report: Concern among mayors over housing costs dwarfs other issues
Soaring housing costs and rising inflation are driving up the cost of living in communities across the United States. Mayors are very concerned. More than 80 percent of mayors interviewed in the latest report from the Boston University Initiative on Cities’ annual 2022 Menino Survey of Mayors—which is based on interviews conducted last summer with 118 sitting mayors leading cities with populations greater than 75,000 people, representing 38 states—ranked housing costs as their top concern. The latest report covers economic, health and safety challenges faced by American city leaders.
US Mayors Cite Housing Costs as Most Pressing Economic Concern in New Survey by BU Researchers
Four out of five US mayors identified increasing housing costs as a top economic challenge facing their cities—far ahead of other concerns including rising living costs, poverty, and wage stagnation—though they see themselves with a limited toolset to change local housing markets. Regarding public safety, three of four mayors agree that civilians should be banned from acquiring assault rifles under any circumstances—a view that includes support from 40 percent of Republican city leaders. And mayors report feeling more accountable to their constituents on a range of public safety and health issues, from gun violence to mental health concerns, than they did when researchers posed the same questions four years ago.
US Mayors Take on Climate Change
The 2022 Menino Survey of Mayors examined how 118 mayors across the United States think about climate action. Mayors were asked about their opinions on climate change and the changes they are willing to make using regulatory powers or other local actions. Nearly all mayors surveyed worried about local impacts of climate change, including drought, extreme heat, flooding, and air pollution. Most mayors (73%) agreed that cities should use their resources and funds to address climate change locally, with mayors expressing greater interest in investing in new green technology than imposing restrictions on their citizens. The most popular motivation for local climate action was “desire to do our part” (79% chose it as their top two), followed by concern about the impacts on their city (38%) and long-term money-saving potential (29%).
Prof. Loretta Lees: Gentrification is Global, Revising the Definition and Borders of Gentrification (Interview)
Professor Loretta Lees is the current Faculty Director of the Initiative on Cities at Boston University and is an urban geographer and urbanist who is internationally known for her research on gentrification and urban regeneration. Emiliya Akhundova and Anna Jonczyk interview Professor Lees on her books “Gentrification” – the first textbook on gentrification – and “Planetary Gentrification.” In this interview, Professor Lees discusses how the term “gentrification” has been overburdened and that there are new, more specific terms that may better describe the changes occurring across various locations: classical, rural, new-build, and super-gentrification.
Why are London’s housing estates choosing to be demolished?
The demolition forms part of a multibillion-pound “regeneration” scheme that was first announced in the early Noughties. So far, however, the site of the mooted project has shown signs of neglect rather than renewal. Residents of the estate – a mix of social tenants, leaseholders and private renters – have long struggled with the council to get mice-infested, asbestos-ridden and draughty homes fixed. Their community centre has closed and the community has hollowed out as neighbours have sold up or been moved out in anticipation of the long-awaited redevelopment.
One to One with Suzy Wrack: The House I Grew Up In
Football writer Suzy Wrack talks to urban geographer and professor at Boston University, Loretta Lees, about how growing up on council estates shaped their lives, and led them to studying the impact of space and design.
Few Mayors Connect the Dots Between Zoning and Homelessness
Last January the Boston University Initiative on Cities, drawing on data from the 2021 Menino Survey of Mayors, reported that only 1 in 5 mayors felt they had more than “moderate” control over homelessness in their cities. Six in 10 pointed to limited funding as the biggest barrier, and close to 7 in 10 had the view that zoning was a barrier of little or no consequence, despite the impact of zoning codes on housing development.