Urban-H Research Agenda

In the Spring of 2023, the Initiative on Cities launched a new research agenda, the Urban-H, which will be the cornerstone of our work for the next five years. Our team will seek new solutions to three key challenges that pose a growing threat to urban livability and vitality: Housing, Heat, and Health. These are research areas where BU is well-positioned to have a lasting impact. We will examine these issues separately and as a tripartite, focusing on equity and justice. We will engage and work with practitioners, policymakers, governments, and communities on the ground to pursue evidence-based and practical solutions.

Our goals for Urban-H are three-fold:

  1. Elevate the profile of Boston University as a research expert on timely urban issues cited in our Urban-H Index.
  2. Generate research on housing, heat, and health in national and international spheres and translate academic work into policy.
  3. Foster a transdisciplinary community of practice for housing, heat, and health.

Urban-H Categories

Key Issue: Affordability
■ Precarity: Gentrification & Displacement, Evictions, Informal Settlements, Homelessness, Overcrowding
■ Housing Markets: Barriers to Growth, Supply, Zoning & Land Use, Equity/Ownership
■ Urban Governance and Urban Sustainability
■ Social Sustainability


Key Issue: Extreme Heat
■ Measuring, Mapping, & Forecasting Urban Heat
■ Urban Heat Impacts: Wildfires, Flooding, etc.
■ Nature-based Solutions & Ecosystem Services
■ Adaptation & Mitigation: Climate Action Planning

Key Issue: Mental Health
■ Healthy Cities: Built Environment & Green Space
■ Housing Security/Stability
■ Trauma, Poverty, Racism & Social Capital
■ Migration

Urban-H Associate Directors

To push forward this agenda, we are proud to announce our Urban-H Associate Directors: Katherine Levine Einstein, Dan Li, and Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba. All three faculty leads are trailblazing and widely respected professionals at various levels of academia in their fields, leading on core issues impacting the lives of people worldwide today and in the future.