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.

ELECTION 2023: Being mayor is a tough job, why do these two want it?

Gentrification is happening in cities all around the globe: an influx of more affluent residents and rising housing prices pushes out existing tenants, changing the character of a neighborhood or community. The process can be driven by a host of factors, from the economics of development to climate change. Thursday, October 26, through Saturday, October 28, the Initiative on Cities and BU’s Department of Sociology are hosting “Gentrification & Displacement: What Can We Do About It? An International Dialogue.”

High prices, years-long wait lists: Massachusetts needs more senior housing

Nearing 70 years old, Mary McPeak had long had a stable home in Greater Boston. But after a breakup four years ago, she suddenly found herself unmoored, couch-surfing at friends’ homes or renting a room while she faced years-long wait lists for affordable senior housing.
Then a break: McPeak “won the lottery,” figuratively and quite literally, when she was selected in 2020 by lottery for a new senior housing complex, the Brown Family House in Brookline run by 2Life Communities.

The Battle for I-95

Two weeks ago, looking at the burned-out section of I-95 in Philadelphia from above, the safe bet was that this stretch of the East Coast’s most essential arterial would be a traffic nightmare for months to come. The elevated section of the highway had collapsed on June 11 after a tractor trailer flipped over and caught fire.

A big chunk of lobbying in Massachusetts is not tracked: Cities, towns are active on Beacon Hill but their activity treated differently

In March, Professor Julia Payson of New York University addressed a small group who had gathered at Boston University’s Initiative on Cities to hear about the new book she wrote — When Cities Lobby. Dr. Payson told the small crowd that the inspiration for her book came while she was a graduate student in California listening to NPR, and a strange statistic popped up: local governments in California are the state’s top spenders on lobbyists, spending more than any individual private interest. Included in that number were not only outside firms, but in-house lobbyists who worked directly for local governments. This is notable in a state where Silicon Valley billionaires, Hollywood studio heads, and some of the highest-grossing farmers in the country all live, work, and lobby.

Racial gaps in gun violence against kids increased during COVID

White children did not experience an increase in firearm assault injuries at all.

Gun violence—and racial disparities in gun violence—have increased substantially during the pandemic, particularly among children. The new study shows just how stark these differences in risk of firearm injury are between white and non-white children.

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.

Building a Better Boston: Behind the scenes at Boston City Hall, BU PhD candidates are solving problems small and big

If you walk through Boston City Hall, chances are you’ll bump into someone from BU working on the front lines, building a city that works for all. In recent years, several PhD candidates from BU have accepted fellowships or internships with the City of Boston, forming a brain trust and working on many of the city’s most ambitious initiatives. Some come from disciplines not traditionally thought of as feeders for public service—like history and sociology—but end up contributing in significant ways, many times picking up a love for municipal government that sticks. And many of those students arrive at City Hall via BU’s Initiative on Cities (IOC).

Gov. Healey’s opportunity to drive transformative change: New administration should pursue integrated approach to state’s interrelated challenges

While opinions about climate change might split along party lines among the general public, mayors are universally clear about what’s driving it and are unanimous in their concern about its detrimental impact on American cities. In a new report published Wednesday by the Boston University Initiative on Cities, nearly all mayors surveyed in the 2022 Menino Survey of Mayors are worried about climate impacts on their cities—only 3% said they’re not concerned.