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.
Validation of an Electronic Health Record Algorithm for Identifying Housing‐Related Needs in a Safety‐Net Health System
Accurate, efficient identification of housing-related needs, including homelessness or housing instability, is crucial for health systems addressing health-related social needs (HRSN). We developed and validated a novel, pragmatic electronic health record (EHR)-based algorithm to identify patients with housing-related needs.
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.
Defending the innovation district: Violence, urban entrepreneurialism, and the privatization of public security in Monterrey, Mexico
Drawing on and extending this line of work, this article examines how a private sector can leverage the local state, an anchor institution (a university), and district residents to create what we call a defended entrepreneurial district—an entrepreneurial district receiving priority public–private policing from above and heightened neighborhood vigilance from below to secure a territory for capital gain in a high-violence context. Our case study is the Distrito Tec, a private university-led innovation district launched in 2014 in Monterrey, Mexico in the aftermath of a major metropolitan security crisis.
Modeling the Distribution, Impacts, and Mitigation of Anthropogenic Heat in Los Angeles
Anthropogenic heat emissions from human energy consumption contribute to the urban heat island (UHI) effect, yet their spatiotemporal distributions and impacts remain uncertain. In this study, we develop a 100 m resolution, hourly anthropogenic heat flux (AHF) dataset for Los Angeles (LA) County and we use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to quantify both meteorological impacts of AHF and heat mitigation potential of electrification and energy efficiency (EE) measures.
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 […]
Age and Homeownership Drive the Local Turnout Gap
In this article, we use a national voter file to compare turnout in general, midterm, and off-cycle local elections in over 500 cities. We provide novel estimates of turnout gaps by race, age, and homeownership status in local elections, and identify stark inequalities compared with national and state elections. We find sizable turnout gaps both by age and homeownership status at the local levels, far exceeding those in national contests.
How Do Crises Impact Policy Debates? The shifting national landscape of discourse on rental housing in the USA
How do crises impact national policy debates? We find that the crisis of COVID-19 expanded and changed the structure of discourse: from a smaller conversation pre-COVID-19 in which public and subsidized housing prevailed toward an explosion during the pandemic on eviction protections and rent controls, followed by a larger emphasis on discrimination.