The Politics of Rent: Power & Inequality in Low-Income Neighborhoods
Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigator: Landlords in low-income urban areas hold immense economic and political power relative to their tenant populations. Depending on their motivations, resources, and ability, landlords can be harbingers of a neighborhood’s bright or bleak future. This project uses “big data” to better understand the landlords operating in low-income neighborhoods in cities across […]
Cities and Alternative Spaces of Memory: Monuments and Counter-Monuments in New Orleans
Principal Investigator Despite public outcry from some quarters, the New Orleans City Council voted to remove four monuments to the Confederacy in 2015. Cynthia Becker’s project, “Cities and Alternative Spaces of Memory: Monuments and Counter-Monuments in New Orleans,” uses the current debate around Confederate monuments as a springboard to consider the role counter-monuments play in […]
Socio-Spatial Politics of Risk Mitigation: Building-Scale Urban Transformation Maps of Istanbul, Turkey
Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator In an era of ever growing global cities facing climate and environmental hazards, financial crises and pandemics, risk calculation and anticipation became main organizing principles of contemporary cities. In dialogue with the literature on socio-spatial politics of risk, Ladin’s research examines the ways in which risk calculation and mitigation efforts shape […]
The Effects of Civil Service Reform on Local Government: Evidence from the Progressive Era
Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator: As populations grew throughout the early 1900s, questions of city governance grew in importance and complexity. How were the cities of the early twentieth century managed and governed? Early in the 19th century, traditional patronage systems reigned and were seen as an important tool for voter mobilization. However, by 1920, over […]
Addressing the Workforce Needs of Youth in Urban Settings: A Study of Local Workforce Development Boards’ Inclusion of Youth Expertise
Principal Investigator: This project will examine Local Workforce Development Boards (WDBs) in urban settings in regard to their inclusion of youth perspectives in planning and implementation. Currently, insufficient evidence exists regarding the policy networks to address youth employment in cities and the characteristics of these networks that promote innovative, sustained, and effective results. Disconnected youth […]
Effects of Greenspace Structure on Urban Tree Health and Human Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter: A Biogeochemical Analysis and Exposure Assessment
Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigators: Air pollution in urban areas, such as particulate matter emitted from vehicular and industrial activity, has negative effects on vegetation and human health. To encourage reductions in air pollution in urban areas, many cities have increased vegetation through tree planting campaigns, which has been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease prevalence and […]
Urban Heat Exposure, Cooling Demand and Electricity Consumption under Future Climate Change: an Empirical Approach
Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigators Can cities adapt in sustainable ways to the impacts of climate change? Different cities across the world will face different health risks due to rising temperatures, and urban populations will have varied adaptation options over the time-frames in which temperatures will increase. Such heterogeneity suggests the need for differentiated approaches to […]
COVID-19 & Cities: Supporting Aging Populations
On May 27, 2020, the Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) and the Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) held a webinar to discuss the challenges and trends that aging populations face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how cities are responding. IOC Co-Director Katharine Lusk moderated and was joined by: Bronwyn […]
#BUandBoston: “Criminalized” Sheds Light on Systemic Failures
By: Douglas Darrah “Criminal” is not a state of being but a label that is strategically assigned. That is the premise of Criminalized, Sarika Ram’s (CAS ‘21) new podcast. Throughout her first season, she interviews formerly incarcerated people and explores who is and is not deemed a criminal in the United States. In her first […]
Meet the 2020 MORRE Fellow: Faith Rynda
The Initiative on Cities (IOC) and the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground are proud to announce that Faith Rynda has been selected as the summer 2020 MORRE Fellow. Faith will spend the summer working with the City of Boston’s Chief Resilience Officer, Ms. Lori Nelson, in the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Racial Equity (MORRE). As Chief Resilience Officer, Ms. […]