Urban Research Incubator
When: Thursday, February 12, 9 AM–11:30 AM Where: Rajen Kilachand Center, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Colloquium Room, Boston, MA 02215 Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities for an Urban Research Incubator – an event showcasing cutting-edge, policy-relevant urban research at BU and sparking new cross-disciplinary collaborations around heat, health, and housing. This event... More
Event Recap: Urban Growth and Citizenship Machines
On Wednesday, October 15th, the Initiative on Cities hosted a panel, “Urban Growth and Citizenship Machines,” where Boston University’s Professor Daniel Abramson discussed his forthcoming book, Designing Citizens. The panel also included prominent urban enthusiasts Lauren Mattioli, Anne Gatling Haynes, and Billy Dean Thomas. The conversation focused on the urban renewal... More
Event Recap: Designing and Using Transit Maps
On Monday, October 27, 2025, the Initiative on Cities and the Metropolitan College City Planning & Urban Affairs Program co-hosted a discussion exploring the design and implementation of transit maps. This session of Transportation & The City featured Ken Dumas, Manager of the Central Transportation Planning Staff at the Boston... More
Event Recap: Boston University City Hall Day
By Danielle Mulligan Photos by Ting Wei Li On December 3rd, the Initiative on Cities (IOC) hosted the inaugural BU City Hall Day, building on the success of three cohorts of the IOC’s Public Impact Scholars (PIS) program. The goal of this event was to build relationships between BU faculty and... More
#BUandBoston: Urbanism Club at Boston University
This post is part of our #BUandBoston series, highlighting the work and research of BU students, faculty, and staff throughout the City of Boston and the Greater Boston region. Interested in having your Boston-related work featured? Tag us on Instagram or Twitter (@BUonCities) using the #BUandBoston or send us an... More
Gentrification: Ideas to Action
Featuring a book discussion on The Death and Life of Gentrification and the launch of IOC’s Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab When: Wednesday, February 4, 3:00 – 5:00 PM Where: Rajen Kilachand Center, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Colloquium Room, Boston, MA 02215 Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities for the launch of the Gentrification... More
Advancing Climate Action in Small and Midsize Cities
When: Wednesday, December 10, 2025 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET Where: Virtual; Access recording here The Boston University Initiative on Cities hosted a webinar exploring how small and midsize cities are advancing climate action – and the creative strategies they are using to fund and implement it. The event will spotlight... More
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... More
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... More
Multiplied Displacements: The Climate-Housing Nexus Conference
Where: Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. When: January 15-17, 2026 Conference Co-Chairs: Karen Chapple (School of Cities, University of Toronto), Loretta Lees (Initiative on Cities, Boston University), and Jesse M. Keenan (Center on Climate Change and Urbanism, Tulane University) Conference Sponsors: Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Development Grant... More
Third Spaces Zine: Call for Submissions
The Boston University Initiative on Cities is excited to launch Third Spaces: an interdisciplinary, student-led zine that brings together diverse stories on urbanism. Third Spaces celebrates the rich diversity of city life. We foster relationships across communities and hold civic leaders accountable to public needs. Through an interdisciplinary approach, Third Spaces... More
Seed Funding Opportunity: Pilot Partnerships in Massachusetts
GUDL is launching a special, time-limited pilot program to support the development of partnerships addressing gentrification and displacement in Massachusetts. We invite local organizations and individuals to submit requests for collaboration for a chance to receive seed funding in early 2026. This pilot aims to foster new, cross-sector partnerships that bridge local knowledge, More
2025 Careers in Transportation Information Session
When: Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 4:00 – 5:30 PM Where: Initiative on Cities, 75 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215 Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities and City Planning & Urban Affairs Program at Metropolitan College for our annual Careers in Transportation Information Session! This session provides a direct venue for... More
The Multilayered Geography of Scale in ‘The Pointillistic City’
When: November 3, 2025 | 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET Where: Initiative on Cities, 75 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215 Join the Boston University Department of Sociology and Initiative on Cities for a special session of the Urban Inequalities Workshop featuring Dr. Daniel T. O’Brien’s (Northeastern University) latest book, The Pointillistic... More
Urban Health in Africa
When: Thursday, November 6, 10:00 - 11:30 AM ET (Boston) Where: Virtual via Zoom Join us for a virtual discussion of Urban Health in Africa, co-edited by Boston University Associate Professor of Global Health, Elaine Nsoesie. The event will feature contributing authors highlighting case studies from the volume and a panel conversation... More
Designing and Using Transit Maps
When: Monday, October 27, 2025, 12:00 – 1:30 PM Where: Metropolitan College, 1010 Commonwealth Ave., 1st floor, Room 122 Join the Boston University Metropolitan College City Planning & Urban Affairs Program and Initiative on Cities for a noontime Transportation & the City discussion on how people use and navigate with transit map... More
Introducing the 2025–2026 Initiative on Cities Menino Fellow: Isabella Alvarado
We are excited to announce Isabella Alvarado (CAS’27) as the 2025–2026 Boston University Initiative on Cities Menino Fellow in partnership with the National League of Cities (NLC). Isabella is a junior at Boston University studying Political Science with minors in Public Policy Analysis and Urban Studies. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, she... More
Urban Growth and Citizenship Machines
Where: Boston University Initiative on Cities | 75 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215 When: Wednesday, October 15, 2025, 4:00 - 5:30 PM ET Join the Initiative on Cities for a conversation with Boston University Professor Daniel Abramson, who will share insights from his forthcoming book, Designing Citizens. Abramson’s work explores postwar federal government... More
Campbell Taylor: My Summer with the City of Boston Planning Advisory Council
Working with the City of Boston Planning Advisory Council (PAC) team this past summer was an incredible and transformative experience. I thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with the Planners and experts across other departments at City Hall, learning from their expertise on Boston’s neighborhoods and needs. This summer was a particularly exciting... More
Levi Chen: My Summer with the City of Boston Office of Climate Resilience
To me, communication is one of those things that’s so prevalent in our day-to-day lives that we forget just how important it is. We want to know what’s going on in the world around us, but there can often be a disconnect between those who have that information and those... More