The Right to the City: Visualizing Home, Resistance, and Belonging
When: Friday, June 12, 2026, 12:00 – 1:30 PM Where: Faye G., Jo, and James Stone Gallery, 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities for a discussion highlighting work from our upcoming exhibition, Right to the City. Henri Lefebvre coined the “Right to the City” in 1968 to assert that […]
Right to the City Opening Reception
When: Thursday, June 11, 2026, 5:00 – 7:00 PM Where: Faye G., Jo, and James Stone Gallery, 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities for the opening reception of Right to the City, a new exhibition featuring the work of photographer and advocate Dominic Moulden. Essmaa Litim, 2025 Spoken Word […]
Event Recap: Territories of Southern Urbanism
By Sasa Ramos | Photos by Onjoli Palmer On Tuesday, April 22, the Center on Forced Displacement, the Boston Urban Salon, and the Initiative on Cities welcomed Associate Professor Romola Sanyal (London School of Economics) for a lively discussion exploring how displacement – both structural and episodic – shapes people’s lives, identities, and urban spaces. […]
Event Recap: Boston & The Making of a Global City
By Angelina Baicu | Photos by Ting Wei Li On Wednesday, April 1, 2026, the Boston University Initiative on Cities, alongside the City Planning & Urban Affairs Program, welcomed BU Urbanist and Lecturer, Jim O’Connell, for a discussion surrounding his new book “Boston and the Making of a Global City.” In it, he highlights Boston’s historical and contemporary […]
Territories of Southern Urbanism: Race, Displacement, and Edge Populations
When: Tuesday, April 21, 2026 | 5:00–6:30 PM ET (reception: 6:30-7:00pm) Where: Boston University Initiative on Cities, 75 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215 Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities, Center on Forced Displacement, and the Boston Urban Salon for a discussion exploring how displacement – both structural and episodic – shapes people’s lives, […]
North: The Future of Post-Climate America Event Recap
By Angelina Baicu | Photos by Ting Wei Li On Thursday, March 19th, the Boston University Initiative on Cities, alongside the Institute for Global Sustainability and the Department of Earth & Environment, welcomed author, professor, and urban planner Dr. Jesse M. Keenan to a discussion of his recent book “North: The Future of Post Climate […]
Event Recap: How Transit Enriches a City with Phil Eng
By Sasa Ramos | Photos by Onjoli Palmer On Thursday, March 5, the Boston University Initiative on Cities, City Planning & Urban Affairs Program, and the Urban Planning Association hosted a student-focused fireside chat featuring Phil Eng, General Manager of the MBTA and interim Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation. A career civil engineer with decades of […]
Boston and the Making of a Global City
When: Wednesday, April 1, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET Where: Initiative on Cities, 75 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215 Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities and the City Planning & Urban Affairs Program for a discussion with BU Urbanist and Lecturer at the Boston University City Planning & Urban Affairs Program, […]
Event Recap: Gentrification: Ideas to Action
By Sasa Ramos | Photos by Caitlin Lee and Ting Wei Li On Wednesday, February 4, the Initiative on Cities launched the Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab (GUDL) – a new hub bringing together faculty, students, practitioners, and community partners committed to understanding urban change, culture, and inequality. At the center of this launch was […]
North: The Future of Post-Climate America
When: Thursday, March 19, 2026 | 4:00–5:30 PM ET (reception until 6pm) Where: Kenmore Room, 9th Floor, 1 Silber Way, Boston, MA 02215 The Boston University Initiative on Cities, Institute for Global Sustainability, and the Department of Earth & Environment are excited to welcome Dr. Jesse M. Keenan, Favrot Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate […]