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.

  • New Report! Gaps and Opportunities: Supporting Boston’s BIPOC Small Businesses

    July 20, 2022
    Boston’s Small Business Service Providers Call for Focus on Capital, Contracts, Cultural Competency, & New Approaches to Mitigate Displacement of BIPOC Businesses Boston University Releases Findings from Survey of Boston’s Ecosystem of Small Business Providers While Boston’s population is majority-minority, its small business community is not reflective of its diversity. In the wake of the […]

  • New Urban Mechanics Summer Fellow – Emily Rackleff

    May 10, 2018
    The Initiative on Cities is delighted to welcome Emily Rackleff as its Graduate Student Fellow for the City of Boston’s Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics this summer. Emily Rackleff is an MBA and MS candidate in the Questrom School of Business, focusing on Social Impact and Digital Innovation respectively. She formerly served as the […]

  • New White Paper: On the Use of ‘Cool Roofs’ to Reduce Residential Heat Exposure Disparities in Boston, MA

    November 8, 2022
    The Initiative on Cities just released a new white paper on the use of ‘cool roofs’ to reduce residential heat exposure disparities in Boston. This white paper was co-authored by Ian Smith (PhD Candidate, Earth & Environment), Katharine Lusk (Co-Director, Initiative on Cities), and Lucy Hutyra (Professor, Earth & Environment), and uses data from a […]

  • New Working Paper: School Closures Significantly Reduced Arrests of Black and Latinx Urban Youth

    October 25, 2022
    BU Assistant Professor of Sociology, Jessica Simes, released a new working paper on how school closures during the pandemic significantly reduced arrests of Black and Latinx urban youth. This working paper was co-authored with Tori Cowger (FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health) and Jaquelyn L. Jahn […]

  • New! Working Paper Series & Faculty Affiliate Program

    September 23, 2019
    The Initiative on Cities is pleased to announce two new opportunities for the BU community launching this Fall 2019: IOC Working Paper Series To help publicize and promote academic research on cities or urban populations, the Initiative is launching a Working Paper Series. This online repository of papers will help increase the visibility of academic […]

  • NLC Menino Fellow Augustine Jimenez Attends the City Summit in Charlotte

    December 7, 2017
    NLC Fellow Augustine Jimenez Attends the City Summit in Charlotte Our 2017-2018 National League of Cities Fellow, Augustine Jimenez, recently attended the NLC City Summit in Charlotte, North Carolina. More than 4,000 attendees participated in hands-on workshops, learned from seminars by city leaders, and networked with other delegates in local government. Topics included sustainability, economic […]

  • North: The Future of Post-Climate America

    February 13, 2026
    When: Thursday, March 19, 2026 | 4:00–5:30 PM ET (reception until 6pm) Where: Kenmore Room, 9th Floor, 1 Silber Way, Boston, MA 02215 The Boston University Initiative on Cities, Institute for Global Sustainability, and the Department of Earth & Environment are excited to welcome Dr. Jesse M. Keenan, Favrot Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate […]

  • North: The Future of Post-Climate America Event Recap

    March 26, 2026
    By Angelina Baicu | Photos by Ting Wei Li On Thursday, March 19th, the Boston University Initiative on Cities, alongside the Institute for Global Sustainability and the Department of Earth & Environment, welcomed author, professor, and urban planner Dr. Jesse M. Keenan to a discussion of his recent book “North: The Future of Post Climate […]

  • Observing and Modeling Urban Boundary Layers Under Heat Waves

    July 16, 2018
    Principal Investigator Heat waves (HWs) are amongst the deadliest natural disasters and are one of the most important causes of weather-related mortality. Urban residents, which now account for more than 50% of the global population, are arguably more vulnerable to HWs due to the urban heat island (UHI) effect wherein cities are usually hotter than […]

  • Occupational Heat & Cooling Strategies: A Pilot Study

    May 28, 2025
    Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigator: This pilot study aims to measure workers’ exposure to and physiological response to heat, and to evaluate the effectiveness of personal cooling strategies in the workplace. In partnership with GreenRoots and collaboration with MassCOSH, the study will recruit up to 10 participants who live in Chelsea and East Boston and who […]