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.

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    Fiscal Leadership and the Modern City

    April 10, 2015
    One of the greatest modern threats facing cities lies on the balance sheet, leaving many wondering: how will we pay for cities in the future? Fiscal Leadership and the Modern City, the third city leadership summit hosted by the Initiative on Cities at Boston University, will examine how communities are tackling contemporary financial constraints with […]
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    Fiscal Leadership Summit Comprehensive Report

    May 12, 2016
    In the spring of 2015, Fiscal Leadership and the Modern City, the Initiative on Cities' third  City Leadership Summit, convened Mayors, CFOs, public officials, fiscal watchdogs, academics, and members of the private sector for a two-day discussion focused on a critical question: how we will pay for the cities of the future? The IOC hopes […]

  • Folded Speech: An Ethics of Comings-and-Goings in an Accra Zongo

    May 22, 2021
    Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigator: “It is not impossible for a lizard to ride on a housefly!,” artist Nicolas Wayo remarked, directing Williamson's attention to his wall painting at Kwame Nkrumah Park in Accra, Ghana. Indeed, an intricately painted lizard in a black and yellow-striped jersey mounted on a fly stared skeptically back at her through […]

  • Former Lord Mayor of London Fiona Woolf Speaks at IOC

    December 20, 2017
    On November 27th, former Lord Mayor of London Fiona Woolf visited the Initiative on Cities to discuss her efforts on sustainability and innovation within London’s electricity industry. Woolf began to speak on a Lord mayor’s numerous responsibilities, one being a “champion of the city brand” to creating opportunities within the city. Though, measuring cities can […]

  • Forum with Gubernatorial Candidate Sonia Chang-Díaz

    April 13, 2022
    Monday, April 25, 2022 6:30pm – 8:00pm ET Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02446 Registration is required to attend this event. Register here! The Boston University Initiative on Cities and Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground are proud to support a Forum with Gubernatorial Candidate Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz hosted by […]

  • From “Street Car Suburb” to “Student Ghetto”: Allston and Urban Change

    June 17, 2016
    Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator Sociology Ph.D. candidate Sarah Hosman, under the advisement of Professor of Sociology Japonica Brown-Saracino, will examine the urban identity of the Boston neighborhood of Allston. Rather than following typical patterns of gentrification of disinvestment, Allston has instead fluctuated between decline and ascent as Boston’s “student ghetto”. Hosman seeks to understand how […]

  • From the Pediatric Frontlines: Basic Needs, Access to COVID19 Supports & Equity Among Families with Young Children in the Boston Area

    May 1, 2020
    Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigator: Young children are in a sensitive period of body and brain development and may be susceptible to significant changes brought about by COVID-19, including the economic stability of their families, food insecurity, housing security, and access to COVID-19 support. Drawing on existing survey data that Children’s HealthWatch, a research and policy […]

  • Gendered Differences in Mobility and the Demand for Transport: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Urban Ethiopia

    May 1, 2023
    Principal Investigator: Africa’s cities are the most rapidly growing in the world; current estimates indicate that by 2050, African cities will grow by an additional 900 million inhabitants and will be home to more than two-thirds of the continent’s population. While urban expansion in Africa will offer opportunities for growth and development, such growth will […]

  • Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab (GUDL) Awards First Community-Centered Collaborative Pilot Partnership Seed Grant

    May 19, 2026
    [BOSTON, MA] May 19, 2026 — The Boston University Initiative on Cities Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab (GUDL) is proud to announce the recipients of our first pilot partnership seed grant between the City of Cambridge Redevelopment Authority (CRA), City of Cambridge Economic Opportunity and Development Division (EODD), and the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN). […]

  • Gentrification Debates Revisited: Lessons from 30 Years of Sociological Research

    June 13, 2016
    Principal Investigator Associate Professor Japonica Brown-Saracino will examine thirty years of extant gentrification scholarship to identify definitional differences, research trends and knowledge gaps. She will address several key themes including: Core features of sociological approaches to gentrification, including examinations of racial, residential, commercial and educational impacts Gentrification’s origins, dynamics and consequences Policy recommendations that have […]