Effects of a Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program on Community Violence in Boston, Massachusetts: A Target Trial Emulation
For these reasons, we used observational data from the HVIP at Boston Medical Center (BMC), one of the longest-running HVIPs in the United States, to emulate target trials on the HVIP’s effectiveness for violence prevention. The goal of the study was to answer the causal question of whether HVIP engagement reduced future violent reinjury and violence perpetration among young adults hospitalized for violence-related injuries. We estimated the observational analogues of per-protocol effects for 2 treatment strategies selected in consultation with BMC HVIP staff: a) engaging with the HVIP within 1 month of the initial violence-related injury (“index injury”) and b) sustained engagement with the HVIP over the first 2 months post–index injury (engaging >4 of the first 8 weeks).
Toward ‘multiplied displacement’: Theorizing at the intersections of migration and urban studies
In this article, we analyze and then conceptually combine separately developed frameworks of displacement in urban and migration research. We consider internationally displaced migrants’ continued and multiplied experiences of displacement in cities and urban areas as an entry point through which to explore the intersections between international and urban displacement. In doing so, we move beyond disciplinary divides and take some preliminary conceptual and analytical steps toward developing a more rigorous, interdisciplinary, and comprehensive framework of displacement: one that enables us to see connections, similarities, and differences between a variety of displacement processes, forms, and experiences.
Development and validation of a 1-item very low food security screen
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has made screening for health-related social needs (HRSNs) mandatory since 2024. Patients screening positive for HRSN food insecurity (FI) are connected with Supplemental Nutrition Services using 1115 Demonstration waivers. With a shift in funding, Massachusetts adopted a more stringent FI-level screening protocol (very low food security [VLFS]). To date, there is no screening tool that identifies VLFS alone; thus, we developed a sensitive, specific, and valid screen to determine risk for VLFS.
2025 Greater Boston Housing Report Card
By The Boston Foundation, November 12, 2025 Boston, MA – A new report on the current state of housing in Greater Boston presents a picture of strong construction, a concerning trend in building permits, and critical affordability challenges in the region. The mixed signals are the focus of the 2025 Greater Boston Housing Report Card, […]
Short-Term Rentals in Boston: Regulation, Compliance, and Impact
The Boston University Initiative on Cities and the School of Hospitality Administration released a new brief examining how Boston’s short-term rental (STR) regulations are working in practice. The brief summarizes key insights on how the rules have reshaped the size and characteristics of the city’s STR market, as well as what the data reveal about […]
IOC Affiliates Published and Presented Research on Housing and Eviction Protections
Recently, Boston University Initiative on Cities affiliates Dr. Molly Richard, a Postdoctoral Scholar at Boston University’s Center for Innovation in Social Science (CISS), and Dr. Kenton Card, an IOC Visiting Urban Scholar and current Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota, prominently shared their insights […]
New Publication: “From heat racism and heat gentrification to urban heat justice in the USA and Europe”
A new article published in Nature Cities examines urban heat issues through new lenses of inequality, calling for researchers to bridge the gap between heat management and institutional discrimination. Focusing on the Global North, the authors, including IOC Director Loretta Lees and External Advisory Board Member Isabelle Anguelovski, argue that researchers and planners must consider […]
2024 Greater Boston Housing Report Card
The Initiative on Cities Co-Authors the 2024 Greater Boston Housing Report Card Special Analysis on Using Public Land to Develop Affordable Housing Greater Boston’s well-publicized housing challenges continue, even as communities work to change zoning rules to comply with the state’s new MBTA Communities requirements. A lack of new construction, high interest rates, and changing […]
IOC Co-Authors New Commentary on Highway Reclamation Impacts on Population Health
Boston University Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and IOC BU Urbanist Mary Willis (SPH), alongside co-authors Fintan Mooney (SPH), Professor of Epidemiology Jennifer Weuve (SPH), IOC Director Loretta Lees (CAS), and IOC Executive Director Stacy Fox, contributed to a new commentary in the Journal of Urban Health that proposes a framework for evaluating the multidimensional impacts of […]
Initiative on Cities Releases 2024 Annual Report
The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is proud to release its 2024 Annual Report — marking 10 years since our founding and commitment to the betterment of cities. The achievements over the past year underscore our center’s dedication to serving as an interdisciplinary hub for urbanists, bridging research and practice, and leading place-based experiential […]