2016 Urban Research Awards

Each year, the Initiative on Cities provides seed funding for Boston University faculty and student-led research projects focused on issues effecting cities. Prospective fundees must submit an application during our spring RFP, and we place extra emphasis on multi-disciplinary partnerships.

With the summer underway, we are thrilled to announce the recipients of our 2016 Early Stage Urban Research Awards. Below please find an overview of this year’s winners  with links that provide more information about each project.

Economy

• Refugee Resettlement as an Urban Development Tool in Deindustrialized Cities: A Case Study of Pittsburgh, PA
  • Jake Watson, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Sociology, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences
  • Adviser: Professor Julian Go, Department of Sociology, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences
• Refugee Livelihoods and Work Permits in Urban Areas: The Case of Jordan
  • Assistant Professor Noora Anwar Lori, Boston University Frederick Pardee School of Global Studies
  • Vicky Kelberer, Masters candidate, Boston University Frederick Pardee School of Global Studies
• The Dynamic Advantages of Economic Diversity in Cities: Evidence from U.S. History
  • Assistant Professor Martin Fiszbein, Department of Economics, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences

Environment

• Albedo and Its Impact on the Urban Heat Island Effect: Characterizing the Urban Surface and its Heat Mitigation Potential Across a Transect of Cities
  • Andrew Trlica, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Earth & Environment, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences
  • Adviser: Associate Professor Lucy Hutyra, Department of Earth & Environment, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences
• Developing a Citywide Greenhouse Gas Inventory in Providence, Rhode Island
  • Associate Professor Lucy Hutyra, Department of Earth & Environment, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences
  • Conor Gately, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Earth & Environment, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences

Health

• Assessment of Urban Indoor Air Quality, Environmental Conditions and Occupancy Using a New, Low-Cost Wireless Sensor
  • Research Assistant Professor Patricia Fabian, School of Public Health
  • Professor Thomas Little, Boston University College of Engineering
  • Professor Gary Adamkiewicz, Harvard Chan School of Public Health
• Modelling the Effect on Energy-Efficient Housing Interventions on Indoor Environmental Health in Urban Multi-Family Populations
  • Lindsay Underhill, Ph.D. candidate, Boston University School of Public Health
  • Professor Jonathan Levy, Boston University School of Public Health

Placemaking/Placekeeping

• From “Street Car Suburb” to “Student Ghetto”: Allston and Urban Change
  • Sarah Hosman, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Sociology, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences
  • Adviser: Associate Professor Japonica Brown-Saracino, Department of Sociology, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences
• Gentrification Debates Revisited: Lessons from 30 Years of Sociological Research
  • Associate Professor Japonica Brown-Saracino, Department of Sociology, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences

Youth

• Promoting Academic Success in Urban Head Start Children: A Pilot Study to Enhance Cognitive Control Through Metacognitive Monitoring
  • Assistant Professor Amanda Tarullo, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences
  • Associate Professor Ruth Paris, Boston University School of Social Work
  • Assistant Professor Kathleen Corriveau, Boston University School of Education
• Jr. Ball: Collaborative Youth Sport-Based Intervention to Promote Positive Development Among Youth of Color in Boston, MA
  • Assistant Professor Linda Sprague Martinez, Boston University School of Social Work
  • Associate Professor Ellen DeVoe, Boston University School of Social Work