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... More
Amie Thomas: My Summer with the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics
Amie Thomas (GRS’24) was the 2024 Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics Summer Fellow. Interested in this fellowship? Click here to learn more about our summer internship & fellowship offerings. Like many forward-thinking students, come the end of the fall semester, I needed to decide on what my plans for the summer... More
Roshan Sivaraman: My Summer with the City of Boston’s Office of Climate Resilience (Climate Ready Boston)
Roshan Sivaraman (CFA, Pardee ’26) was the 2024 City of Boston Climate Ready Boston Intern. Interested in this internship? Click here to learn more about our summer internship & fellowship offerings. This summer, I had the privilege of working as a Summer Intern at the City of Boston’s Office of Climate Resilience... More
Alexandria McKenzie: My Summer with the City of Boston’s Equity & Inclusion Cabinet
Alexandria McKenzie (CAS '26) was the 2024 City of Boston Equity & Inclusion Cabinet Summer Intern. Interested in this internship? Click here to learn more about our summer internship & fellowship offerings. Reflecting on my time at City Hall, I see a summer full of creativity, innovation, and new insights and perspectives. More
Introducing the 2024–2025 Initiative on Cities Menino Fellow: Kathya Correa Almanza
We are excited to announce Kathya Correa Almanza (CAS’25) as the 2024–2025 Boston University Initiative on Cities Menino Fellow in partnership with the National League of Cities (NLC). During the fall semester, Kathya will conduct a directed study under the supervision of IOC Director Loretta Lees, evaluating the Boston Public School... More
Urban Power: Democracy & Inequality in São Paulo & Johannesburg
When: Wednesday, November 13, 4 PM – 6 PM ET Where: Initiative on Cities, 75 Bay State Road Join us for a book discussion featuring Benjamin Bradlow, Assistant Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University. His new book, Urban Power: Democracy & Inequality in São Paulo & Johannesburg, explores why some cities... More
2024 Careers in Transportation Information Session
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 30th, 4 PM – 5:30 PM ET Location: Initiative on Cities | 75 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215 Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities and City Planning & Urban Affairs Program for our annual Careers in Transportation Information Session! This session provides a direct venue... More
Critical Gentrification Studies in US Cities: A Book Symposium
Date & Time: Friday, November 1st, 11 AM – 3 PM ET Location: Rajen Kilachand Center Colloquium Room, 1st Floor (610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215) Join us for a book symposium featuring three new books by leaders in the field of gentrification: Tanya Golash-Boza’s Before Gentrification: The Creation of DC’s Racial... More
The Last Breath of Sam Yan Film Screening & Discussion
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 23, 2024, 4:00-6:00pm ET Film Screening: Initiative on Cities, 75 Bay State Road Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities, the Center for the Study of Asia, and the Department of Anthropology for a featured screening of The Last Breath of Sam Yan. This documentary captures the efforts of residents... More
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, More
New Publication: “Operationalizing climate justice in the implementation of Boston’s Building Performance Standard”
Dr. Claudia Diezmartínez, Professor Benjamin Sovacool, and Associate Professor Anne Short Gianotti have published a new paper on Nature Cities that analyzes the politics and processes of implementing climate justice plans in urban governments. Read the full abstract here: "Cities are moving toward the implementation of more just urban climate actions, More
Policy Brief: The Role of Sanitation and Waste Management in Local Responses to Homelessness
Authors: Katherine Levine Einstein (Associate Professor of Political Science, Boston University), Charley E. Willison (Assistant Professor of Public and Ecosystem Health, Cornell University) In this brief, the Boston University Initiative on Cities, Cornell University, and Community Solutions investigate the involvement of sanitation agencies in response to homelessness in cities across the country. Unsheltered homelessness is highly... More
Allston Multimodal Project and Reknitting the Allston Community
Where: Eichenbaum Colloquium Room, 610 Commonwealth Ave, First Floor When: Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 4:00 – 5:30 PM ET Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities and the City Planning & Urban Affairs Program for a special discussion on the mega project realigning the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90. The project will open up land... More
The Two Faces of Fear: Violence and Inequality in the Mexican Metropolis Book Talk & Discussion
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 4:00-6:00 PM ET (Talk: 4-5:15 PM; Reception: 5:15-6 PM) Location: Initiative on Cities, 75 Bay State Road Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities, Center for Latin American Studies, and Department of Sociology to discuss Assistant Professor of Sociology Ana Villarreal's newly published book on the... More
Director Loretta Lees Wins International Planning History Society (IPHS) Book Prize
Initiative on Cities Director Loretta Lees and co-author Elanor Warwick received the biennial International Planning History Society's (IPHS) First Book Prize for their book Defensible Space on the Move: Mobilisation in English Housing Policy and Practice. The First Book Prize recognizes innovative planning history books based on original research. Defensible Space... More
Call for Papers for the 2025 International Conference on Urban Affairs – Triangulating the Urban-H (Housing, Heat, Health) in Cities Session
When: April 15-19, 2025 Where: Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Organizers: Loretta Lees, Professor of Sociology, and Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Research Associate Professor of Health Law, Policy and Management, Initiative on Cities, Boston University If interested in being a part of this session, please email your name, institution, paper... More
Spring 2024 Event Recap
This past semester, the Initiative on Cities invited urban researchers, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary academics, policymakers, practitioners, and students to share their insights on various topics and issues in cities. Spring 2024 marks a decade since the Initiative on Cities was founded, and we look forward to adding more events and... More
Meet Amie Thomas, 2024 Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics Fellow
The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is happy to announce Amie Thomas (GRS Statistical Practice) has been selected as this year's City of Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM) Fellow. This fellow will have the opportunity to explore an interest in public service and civic innovation while positively... More
Meet Roshan Sivaraman, 2024 Climate Ready Boston Intern
The Boston University Initiative on Cities is happy to announce that Roshan Sivaraman (CFA, Pardee ’26) has been selected for the summer internship working with the Climate Ready Boston team on bus shelter pilot projects to advance heat and stormwater resilience. The projects aim to provide cooling or green infrastructure enhancements to bus... More
Meet Alexandria McKenzie, 2024 City of Boston’s Equity & Inclusion Cabinet Summer Intern
The Boston University Initiative on Cities and the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground are happy to announce that Alexandria McKenzie (CAS ’26) has been selected as this year’s summer intern with the City of Boston’s Equity & Inclusion Cabinet. Alexandria will work directly with the Senior Advisor on Racial Justice, Ms. More