Sep 22, 2020

Counting the City: Mayoral Views on the 2020 Census

The 2020 Menino Survey of Mayors represents the seventh nationally representative survey of American mayors and is based on interviews with 130 sitting mayors from 38 states. The 2020 Survey explores mayoral views on COVID-19 recovery, policing and protests, parks and greenspace, and the 2020 Census.

Just Released! Counting the City: Mayoral Views on the 2020 Census

Bipartisan Concern Among Mayors over Census Undercount Latest Menino Survey of Mayors from Boston University Initiative on Cities, supported by Citi and The Rockefeller Foundation, also Addresses COVID-19, Policing & Protests, and Parks & Greenspace As the 2020 Census concludes at the end of September, a large majority of the mayors of America’s major cities […]

Sep 21, 2020

Can Mayors Lead on Climate Change? Evidence from Six Years of Surveys

Using six years of novel elite survey data, we find that mayors are strongly committed to addressing climate change and reducing their communities’ reliance on cars. They are also supportive of some specific policies–including the construction of dense, multifamily housing and bicycle lanes–that would decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Sep 21, 2020

Can Mayors Lead on Climate Change? Evidence from Six Years of Surveys

In the final report of our three-part series, the Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy presents the results of a survey of 25 U.S. and Canadian city climate leaders, conducted in July and August 2020, to assess the current priority of city climate action in the context of the pandemic.

Black Boston: Changing the Face of Politics

Watch a recording and read a recap of Black Boston: Changing the Face of Politics, held on September 21, 2020. Recap by Claudia Chiappa On Monday, September 21, 2020, the Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC), Boston University Diversity & Inclusion, and WBUR CitySpace hosted “Black Boston: Telling Our Stories.” Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell […]

Improving Local Civic Engagement during COVID-19 and Beyond: Reflecting on my 2020 Fellowship with the Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics

By Meghann Lucy (PhD student, Sociology) This has been an unexpected and unprecedented year. The first wave of a global pandemic, which at the time of writing has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 800,000 people, has disrupted life as we knew it. Countries and cities shuttered, economies slowed, scientists scrambled to learn the […]

Sep 1, 2020

Mayors and Social Inequalities

Notwithstanding the belief that with enough effort, any American can succeed, empirical studies show that socio-economic background determines lifetime prospects. This working paper examines obstacles to social mobility in cities.