2023 Undergraduate Internship Opportunities
The Initiative on Cities is now accepting applications for Summer 2022 Internships with the city of Boston, MA! The deadline to apply for undergraduate fellowships is Sunday, February 26, at 11:59 PM ET. Undergraduate students interested in racial equity, local government, environmental justice, public service, or housing are encouraged to apply. Boston Equity & Inclusion […]
#BUandBoston: Assisting Refugees Through Initiative, Service, and Education (ARISE)
This post is part of our #BUandBoston series, highlighting the work and research of BU students, faculty, and staff throughout the City of Boston and the Greater Boston region. Interested in having your Boston-related work featured? Tag us on Instagram or Twitter (@BUonCities) using the #BUandBoston or send us an email at ioc@bu.edu. By Dhruv Kapadia For the past three months, […]
The Planetary Gentrification Reader
This new Planetary Gentrification Reader follows on from the editors’ 2010 volume, The Gentrification Reader, and provides a more longitudinal (backward and forward in time) and broader (turning away from Anglo-/Euro-American hegemony) sense of developments in gentrification studies over time and space, drawing on key readings that reflect the development of cutting-edge debates.
New Paper by IOC Director that Traces Gentrification Induced Displacement in London
Initiative on Cities’ Director Loretta Lees published a new paper in the journal Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space that investigates and quantifies the displacement of residents due to new development and gentrification of council estates in London. This paper was co-authored with Jonathan Reades (Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London), Phil […]
Quantifying state-led gentrification in London: Using linked consumer and administrative records to trace displacement from council estates
Given the lack of spatially disaggregated migration data that allows us to study patterns of dispersal from individual estates, in this article, we report on an attempt to use consumer-derived data (LCRs) to infer relocations at a high spatial resolution. The evidence presented suggests that around 85% of those displaced remain in London, with most remaining in borough, albeit there is evidence of an increasing number of moves out of London to the South-East and East of England.
New White Paper: On the Use of ‘Cool Roofs’ to Reduce Residential Heat Exposure Disparities in Boston, MA
The Initiative on Cities just released a new white paper on the use of ‘cool roofs’ to reduce residential heat exposure disparities in Boston. This white paper was co-authored by Ian Smith (PhD Candidate, Earth & Environment), Katharine Lusk (Co-Director, Initiative on Cities), and Lucy Hutyra (Professor, Earth & Environment), and uses data from a […]
On the Use of ‘Cool Roofs’ to Reduce Residential Heat Exposure Disparities in Boston, MA
A “cool roofs” program targeted to the hottest, most vulnerable neighborhoods in Boston has the potential to significantly reduce urban heat islands and heat exposure disparities. Boston’s hottest neighborhoods have the highest proportion of flat black roofs, such as those on our famous triple deckers, which absorb rather than reflect heat. Because of the proportion of this type of roof and housing stock in Boston, a targeted program to whiten or lighten residential rooftops would have a measurable impact on reducing extreme heat, improving thermal comfort, and reducing energy use in summer.
The 2022 Greater Boston Housing Report Card
IOC Faculty Fellows Co-Author This Year’s Special Topic and Highlight Systemic Issues in Subsidized Housing Greater Boston continues to struggle with a lack of affordable housing, as tight inventory and rising costs continue to place significant burdens on homebuyers and renters. At the same time, flaws in the systems around subsidized housing mean that thousands […]
2022 Greater Boston Housing Report Card
The data and findings in this report card parallel the housing efforts we see at work among community leaders and housing advocates. In broad terms, one area of focus is housing supply and demand and the resulting prices of homes to rent and own; another is affordability, housing instability and, new in the 2022 report card, subsidized housing. The core metrics section of the report card lays out the persistent realities of the region’s housing crisis related to market forces: cities and towns with variable and insufficient housing production histories, and rents and home prices that are among the highest in the country.
Working Paper: School Closures Significantly Reduced Arrests of Black and Latinx Urban Youth
A spatial analysis shows Black and Latinx youth experience a higher percentage of arrests near schools than White youth. Our findings show school closures significantly reduce arrests of urban youth of color, and reforms addressing youth criminalization and structural racism should consider the joint spatial context of schools and policing.