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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    Policy Brief: Policing and the Punitive Politics of Local Homelessness Policy

    May 31, 2023
    Authors: Alisa Dewald (Research Assistant; Boston University Initiative on Cities), Dr. Katherine Levine Einstein (Boston University Initiative on Cities; Department of Political Science), and Dr. Charley Willison (Cornell University Public Health) In this brief, the Boston University Initiative on Cities, Cornell University, and Community Solutions investigate the involvement of the police in responses to homelessness in cities across the country. Advocates and researchers […]
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    Policy Brief: The Role of Sanitation and Waste Management in Local Responses to Homelessness

    September 6, 2024
    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 visible and presents social, […]

  • Political Messaging & The Modern Media: A Discussion with Jerry Abramson and Margaret Quackenbush

    December 3, 2018
    On Wednesday, November 28th, 2018, the Initiative on Cities and the College of Communication (COM) co-sponsored a discussion on the changing role of media in the political landscape. The talk featured Jerry Abramson, former White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under President Obama, and Margaret Quackenbush, Deputy Press Secretary at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. […]

  • Pretrial Detention Project

    May 16, 2022
    Principal Investigator: Co-Principal Investigator: The in-holding pre-trial population is largely under-represented, under-resourced, and understudied within academic penal studies (Anderson, Cochran, & Montes, 2021). Though pretrial detention is common (nearly half a million people are currently in pretrial detention today in the United States) and becoming increasingly more so over the last several decades, little is […]

  • Prison Changes People, Education Changes Prisons

    November 26, 2019
    By: Carly Berke On Tuesday, November 19th, the Initiative on Cities hosted a comprehensive seminar on the power of education in prison systems, as it has proven to be one of the most effective ways to decrease crime and the financial and social costs of incarceration. Moreover, inmates participating in education programs are less likely […]
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    Professor Goldfarb Awarded Fullbright for IOC-Funded Project

    July 15, 2016
    Jillian Goldfarb, Research Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, recently received a Teaching/Research Fulbright Award for her project: “Global Insights into Sustainable Energy Engineering and Sustainable Solutions for Municipal Solid Waste Management.” Professor Goldfarb will complete her Fulbright appointment at the University of Trento, Italy in Spring 2017. At the University […]
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    Professor Lucy Hutyra to Serve as IOC Faculty Director (Interim) for the 2021–22 Academic Year

    October 2, 2021
    The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is pleased to announce that Lucy Hutyra, Professor of Earth & Environment, will serve as Faculty Director (interim) for the 2021-2022 academic year, leading the Initiative alongside Co-Director Katharine Lusk. Professor Hutyra is one of the country’s leading urban climate scientists. Her research lab investigates carbon dynamics in […]

  • Professor Perspectives: Gentrification in Boston: Are You a Gentrifier?

    November 7, 2017
    On October 25th, Sociology Professor Japonica Brown-Saracino and PhD candidates Taylor Cain and Sarah Hosman discussed gentrification in Boston through a historical lens and through specific case studies in Allston, Jamaica Plain, and Roxbury. Professor Japonica Brown-Saracino took the audience through the origins of gentrification; Ruth Glass coined the term in 1964 when she noticed the […]

  • Professor Tony Janetos, 1954-2019

    August 7, 2019
    It is with great sorrow that we learned that Professor Tony Janetos passed away on August 6th after battling pancreatic cancer. Tony has given extraordinary service to the University in his leadership of the Pardee Center, the Department of Earth and Environment, and BU’s Climate Action Plan. His impact on the University will endure for […]

  • Project SUDS: Serving Up Dignity with Showers

    September 2, 2015
    Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator Kaitlyn Moran, Debbie Perez, and Rebecca Walmer under the direction of Assistant Professor Jessica Leibler seek to investigate the potential barriers to shower access among homeless individuals in Boston. This student team will evaluate the health impacts of poor or irregular personal hygiene among the Boston homeless, the quality and accessibility […]