Meet the 2020 MONUM Fellow: Meghann Lucy
The Initiative on Cities (IOC) is proud to announce that Meghann Lucy has been selected as the summer 2020 MONUM Fellow. Meghann will spend the summer working with the City of Boston, within the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM). MONUM is Boston’s civic innovation team, responsible for promoting participatory urbanism, along with smarter city […]
#BUandBoston: Hearts for the Homeless Helps the Most Vulnerable
By: Douglas Darrah The Westside of Syracuse is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the nation. Seventy-five percent of the population is uninsured or on Medicare or Medicaid, compared to between forty and fifty percent nationally. When Timothy Willard came to BU, he majored in pre-med so that he could go back and open a free […]
COVID-19 & Cities: Pollution and the Environment
Recap by Carly Berke On Wednesday, May 13th, 2020, the Initiative on Cities (IOC) hosted a discussion on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pollution and urban air quality as part of our ongoing COVID-19 & Cities series. David Miller, Director of International Diplomacy at the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and former Mayor […]
Meet the Inaugural 2020 Public Impact Scholars Cohort
The Initiative on Cities is excited to announce our inaugural Public Impact Scholars cohort. The Public Impact Scholars program equips BU faculty with new skills and knowledge to influence local and state policy and discourse for positive societal impact. Faculty gain new perspective on state and local government, evidence-based policymaking, effective community-engaged research, and media engagement. The […]
COVID-19 & Cities: Municipal Fiscal Health
Recap by Carly Berke On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, the Initiative on Cities (IOC) hosted COVID-19 & Cities: Municipal Fiscal Health, continuing the IOC’s ongoing COVID-19 & Cities series. Christiana McFarland, Research Director at the National League of Cities, and Pam Kocher, President of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, joined IOC Director Graham Wilson to […]
After COVID-19: (Re)Building Resilient Cities
Watch the recording and event highlights here. Recap by Carly Berke On Thursday, April 30th, 2020, the Boston University School of Public Health (SPH) and the Initiative on Cities (IOC) co-hosted After COVID-19: (Re)Building Resilient Cities, a webinar exploring the role cities play in supporting public health during COVID-19 and as we start to emerge […]
#BUandBoston: Leila Heidari Helps Measure Heat
By: Douglas Darrah Forty percent of those who die from heat stroke are over 65, even though that demographic makes up less than 15 percent of the US population. According to the Center for Disease Control, older adults do not adjust to changes in temperature as well as younger people and are more likely to […]
The “Aging Disaster” of COVID19: The Association of Social Isolation and Loneliness to Perceived Health, Psychological Wellbeing, and Material Hardship Among Boston Residents Age 60 and Older
Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigator: This project, in collaboration with the City of Boston’s Age Strong Commission, explores the experiences of Boston residents age 60 and older during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given their risk of severe complications from COVID-19, adults age 60 and older have been told to stay at home and […]
Assessing City Health Care Workers’ SARS-CoV2 Transmission to Families
Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigators: Co-Investigator: This pilot study seeks to understand whether healthcare workers are exposing their families and household members to SARS-CoV2—the virus that causes COVID-19—and if so, how they are exposing them. Such take-home exposure through an infected healthcare worker or a worker taking SARS-CoV2 virus on their clothing, skin, or belongings poses […]
How Are Cities Responding to the COVID-19 Housing Crisis?
Principal Investiator: Co-Principal Investiator: 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 and foreclosure moratoriums. Einstein and Palmer will examine the patchwork of housing policies created in response to the COVID-19 crisis for the 150 largest cities […]