BU Artists Featured in Icons of Franklin Park Poster Competition
Inspired by classic Works Progress Administration (WPA) poster designs, the Icons of Franklin Park Poster Competition invited artists to submit original works highlighting the park’s physical and cultural icons, past and present. The City of Boston, the Boston Society of Landscape Architects, and the Franklin Park Coalition sponsored the competition. Franklin Park, designed by renowned […]
GUDL Awards Second Pilot Partnership Seed Grant
The Boston University Initiative on Cities Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab (GUDL) is proud to announce the second recipient of our pilot partnership seed grant: a collaboration between the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH) and Shomon Shamsuddin, Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) at Tufts […]
2026 Early Stage Urban Research Award Recipients
The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is pleased to announce the recipients for our 12th request for proposals for the 2026 cycle of the Early Stage Urban Research Awards. These seed grants support early-stage academic research focused on urban challenges and urban populations across various disciplines and scopes. Research projects also serve as mentorship […]
Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab (GUDL) Awards First Community-Centered Collaborative Pilot Partnership Seed Grant
[BOSTON, MA] May 19, 2026 — The Boston University Initiative on Cities Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab (GUDL) is proud to announce the recipients of our first pilot partnership seed grant between the City of Cambridge Redevelopment Authority (CRA), City of Cambridge Economic Opportunity and Development Division (EODD), and the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN). […]
Ellie Nakasone-Amaguin Awarded the 2026 Initiative on Cities Student Prize
The Initiative on Cities (IOC) is excited to announce that Ellie Nakasone-Amaguin (CAS ’26) has been awarded the IOC Student Prize for the 2026 school year. Ellie is an Architectural Studies student and will be pursuing a master’s degree in Urban Planning at Columbia University this fall. The $1,000 prize is presented annually to one […]
IOC Director Loretta Lees Awarded Royal Geographical Society’s 2026 Patron’s Gold Medal
We are delighted to announce that Loretta Lees, Director of the Initiative on Cities and Professor of Sociology at Boston University, has been awarded the prestigious 2026 Patron’s Medal by the Royal Geographical Society. Recognition of Groundbreaking Scholarship The Patron’s Medal, one of the Society’s two highest honours and requiring approval by His Majesty, King […]
2025 Menino Survey of Mayors: Unlocking Housing Supply
New Survey Examines Mayors’ Views on Housing, Policy Solutions, and Political Constraints Mayors Increasingly Back Housing Supply, But Back Away From Policies That Would Enable It Democratic Mayors More Supportive of Supply-Focused Reforms Than Republicans April 1, 2026 — A new report from the Menino Survey of Mayors, based at Boston University’s Initiative on Cities, […]
2026 Early Stage Urban Research Awards: Request for Proposals
The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) Early Stage Urban Research Awards is accepting project proposals for the 2026 cycle from Boston University faculty members and graduate students. This year, we invite research proposals that explore pressing challenges and solutions facing cities—past, present, and future. Projects may focus on urban places and populations at the […]
2026 Initiative on Cities Summer Internship Applications Now Open
Calling all Boston University students: IOC’s 2026 summer internship applications are now open! This year, the Initiative on Cities is offering four full-time, paid summer internships in the public sector. You can now apply: all information related to the internships is on their respective pages. Please note that, to apply, you must be in good […]
Effects of a Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program on Community Violence in Boston, Massachusetts: A Target Trial Emulation
For these reasons, we used observational data from the HVIP at Boston Medical Center (BMC), one of the longest-running HVIPs in the United States, to emulate target trials on the HVIP’s effectiveness for violence prevention. The goal of the study was to answer the causal question of whether HVIP engagement reduced future violent reinjury and violence perpetration among young adults hospitalized for violence-related injuries. We estimated the observational analogues of per-protocol effects for 2 treatment strategies selected in consultation with BMC HVIP staff: a) engaging with the HVIP within 1 month of the initial violence-related injury (“index injury”) and b) sustained engagement with the HVIP over the first 2 months post–index injury (engaging >4 of the first 8 weeks).