2020 COVID-19 Urban Research-to-Action Award: How Are Cities Responding to the COVID-19 Housing Crisis?
PI: Katherine Levine Einstein, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, BU College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) Co-PI: Maxwell Palmer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Sciences, CAS Many cities have responded to the housing crisis caused by COVID-19 with various protections and programs, ranging from financial relief funds for housing costs to eviction […]
2020 COVID-19 Urban Research-to-Action Award: From the Pediatric Frontlines: Basic Needs, Access to COVID19 Supports & Equity Among Families with Young Children in the Boston Area
PI: Megan Sandel, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, BU School of Medicine (BUSM), Boston Medical Center (BMC), and Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Health, BU School of Public Health (SPH) Co-PI: Deborah A. Frank, MD, Professor in Child Health and Well-Being, Department of Pediatrics, BUSM, BMC, and Assistant Professor, Department of Community Health […]
2020 COVID-19 Urban Research-to-Action Award: Assessing City Health Care Workers’ SARS-CoV2 Transmission to Families
PI: Diana Ceballos, PhD, MS, CIH, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health, BU School of Public Health (SPH) Co-PIs: Jessica Leibler, DrPH, ScM, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health, SPH; and Jennifer Greif Green, PhD, MA, Associate Professor, Special Education Program, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development Co-Is: Jonathan Levy, ScD, Professor and Chair, […]
COVID-19 Research to Action Seed Grant Awards
The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is proud to announce the recipients of its COVID-19 Urban Research-to-Action call for proposals. Five faculty-led teams will receive seed grant awards to help catalyze new research focused on understanding and addressing the disproportionate impacts the COVID-19 pandemic is having on marginalized urban residents. Selected teams represent the […]
MetroBridge Announces Menu of Project Options for Local Governments and Community Organizations
Despite the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that the financial and operational impacts on local governments and community organizations will be severe. In acknowledgement of these difficult times ahead, the Initiative on Cities wants to make you aware of the ways the MetroBridge program can help you fill capacity gaps and continue to move projects forward. We have developed a “menu” of […]
Racial Justice in Cities – IOC Statement
Cities exist to bring people together. As we have learned during these last few months, a city devoid of people is not a city at all. But it is not enough that we inhabit the same space. Everyone has the right to live in and move through our cities, to be safe, secure and welcome […]
2020 Early Stage Urban Research Awards
In Spring 2020, the Initiative on Cities issued its sixth request for proposals to support early stage academic research endeavors focused on urban challenges and urban populations, both domestic and global. We received 27 applications from 16 schools and departments at BU, and and we are thrilled to announce we have funded ten projects, including […]
Assessing the association between combined sewer overflow events and gastrointestinal illness in the Merrimack Valley
Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigators: Collaborator: In combined sewer systems—which exist in more than 800 cities in the United States—household sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are collected in a common pipe that flows to a wastewater treatment facility. Combined sewer overflow (CSO) events occur during periods of peak stormwater runoff when the system becomes overwhelmed and […]
Mixed-methods Study of Female Homeownership in U.S. Cities
Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator Despite lower wages, single women buy more houses than single men, and rates of single male and female homeownership vary substantially across U.S. cities. The origins, history, or varying rates have yet to be studied, and the consequences of gendered homeownership patterns, for homeowners and cities, still need to be understood. […]
The Effects of Social Housing on Neighborhoods: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Copenhagen
Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigator: Collaborator: Providing affordable social housing for socially and economically disadvantaged households is crucial for sustainable and equitable city management. However, little is known about the impacts of social housing for disadvantaged households on urban neighborhoods. Our project studies this question using a research design that takes advantage of a fixed assignment […]