How is the Initiative on Cities Making a Difference in Urban Scholarship?

We catalyze early-stage research that deepens understanding of cities and urban populations. Today, with over half the world’s population living in urban areas, it is more crucial than ever for scholars and practitioners to address the complex challenges facing 21st-century cities – and to shape the policies and practices that will shape their future. If you are a member of the BU community and interested in submitting a proposal, we encourage you to review our annual requests for proposals, which typically open in December or January.  
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724 result(s) found.

  • An Inside Look into the Experience of our 2020–2021 NLC Menino Fellow, Daniel Daponte

    April 4, 2021
    By Claudia Chiappa Daniel Daponte, the Initiative on Cities’ (IOC) 2020–2021 National League of Cities (NLC) Menino Fellow, is part-way through his second semester of the fellowship, working with the NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education and Families this spring. A junior pursuing a BA in Environmental Analysis and Policy with a minor in Urban Studies, […]
  • An Pham

    An Pham: Reflecting on my 2021 Summer Fellowship with the City of Chelsea

    October 24, 2021
    By An Pham (Undergraduate, Economics & Mathematics, Kilachand Honors College) This summer, I worked with the City of Chelsea as an IOC undergraduate Open Data Intern. I worked with Cate Fox-Lent, my supervisor, on a project to start Chelsea’s new Open Data Hub, where I got to process and curate city data for the public […]
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    An Pham: Reflecting On My 2022–2023 NLC Menino Fellowship

    February 20, 2024
    I had a fantastic experience being the 2022–2023 National League of Cities Menino Fellow. I went in with a summer’s experience from another IOC Fellowship, half of an economics degree, and scattered convictions about cities. I’m leaving as a staunch urbanist after exploring those convictions and finding names for the ones that made sense by […]

  • Analysis of Parking Programs and Policies in Providence

    May 31, 2022
    By Amelia Murray-Cooper In Associate Professor and MetroBridge Faculty Director David Glick's 2022 Local Policy Analysis Lab course undergraduate students performed an analysis of Providence’s residential parking permit program and researched how other cities’ policies and programs compare. They explored inequities in car ownership and usage, community participation in overnight parking programs, incentives to reduce […]

  • Andrea Catania: My Summer with the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics

    December 5, 2023
    Andrea Catania (MET'24) was our summer 2023 Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM) Fellow.  Interested in this fellowship? Click here to learn more about our summer internship & fellowship offerings.  In December 2022, I initially scrolled by a summer job posting for something called "the New Urban Mechanics," believing it was probably meant for engineers […]

  • Animal City: The Domestication of America

    February 5, 2021
    Recap by Claudia Chiappa On Tuesday, February 9, 2021, the Boston University Initiative on Cities and the BU History Department hosted a discussion with Andrew Robichaud, Assistant Professor of History at BU, and Catherine McNeur, Associate Professor of Environmental History and Public History at Portland State University. Robichaud and McNeur discussed Robichaud’s book, Animal City: […]

  • Announcing our 2022 Public Impact Scholars Cohort

    April 29, 2022
    The Initiative on Cities (IOC) is excited to announce our 2022 Public Impact Scholars cohort. This is the second year of the Public Impact Scholars program, which equips BU faculty with new skills and knowledge to influence local and state policy and discourse for positive societal impact. Through the program, faculty gain new perspective on state and local […]

  • Announcing Our 2025 Early Stage Urban Research Award Recipients

    May 28, 2025
    The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is pleased to announce the 2025 recipients of our 11th request for proposals for the Early Stage Urban Research Awards. These seed grants support early-stage academic research focused on urban challenges and urban populations across various disciplines and scopes. These projects also serve as mentorship opportunities for graduate […]

  • Announcing the 2022 Public Impact Scholars Program

    January 11, 2022
    The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is pleased to announce our 2022 Public Impact Scholars program for BU Faculty. Public Impact Scholars is a program developed by the Initiative on Cities to equip BU faculty with new skills and knowledge to influence local and state policy and discourse for positive societal impact. Faculty have an […]
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    Annual Cities Talk Lecture: Comparative and Engaged Research in Urban Politics: Productive Tensions?

    October 31, 2023
    Where: Initiative on Cities, 75 Bay State Road When: Monday, November 20, 2023, 4:00 - 5:30 PM ET Comparative analysis of the politics of community mobilization has a long history in urban studies, revealing much about the role of urban movements in wider transformation processes in different times and places. At the same time, many […]