{"id":19010,"date":"2024-09-19T13:56:56","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T17:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/?p=19010"},"modified":"2025-06-12T08:31:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T12:31:54","slug":"initiative-on-cities-releases-2024-annual-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/2024\/09\/19\/initiative-on-cities-releases-2024-annual-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Initiative on Cities Releases 2024 Annual Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is proud to release its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1TxMvStzflifwbulVLLbqmocudkiS1NFW\/view?usp=drive_link\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2024 Annual Report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 marking 10 years since our founding and commitment to the betterment of cities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The achievements over the past year underscore our center\u2019s dedication to serving as an interdisciplinary hub for urbanists, bridging research and practice, and leading place-based experiential learning programs for students. We are continuously strengthening and forging new connections locally, nationally, and globally, all in pursuit of creating more livable, resilient, and just cities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<a href='https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1TxMvStzflifwbulVLLbqmocudkiS1NFW\/view' class='button button-primary'>2024 Annual Report<\/a>\n<p><b>Research Highlights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We continued to lead the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveyofmayors.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Menino Survey of Mayors<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with the 2023 survey exploring mayoral views on early implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and issues ranging from clean energy and permitting to public messaging and capacity challenges to government accountability and control. We also launched a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveyofmayors.com\/data\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">data portal<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> covering 10 years of survey data.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Initiative catalyzed <\/span><b>$13.6 million<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in total funding since 2015 from Early Stage Urban Research Awards, including <\/span><b>$1.8 million <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reported in 2024. We awarded <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/2024\/05\/08\/2024-early-stage-urban-research-awards\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">three $15,000 Early Stage Urban Research Awards<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to projects working at the intersections of urban heat, health, and housing.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government contracted us to develop a Displacement Risk Tool, which will support local policy to identify displacement risks due to development.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Initiative co-led an international workshop series on climate displacement with the University of Toronto\u2019s School of Cities, funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Connections Grant. Together, we produced a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/files\/2024\/08\/Climate-Displacement-Challenges-and-Gaps-in-the-State-of-the-Art.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> summarizing the cohort&#8217;s discussions and key takeaways for policymakers and practitioners. The team has since been awarded additional funding to continue this work over the next two years and will organize a global research network on Climate-Induced Displacement, Resettlement, Adaptation, and Resilience for Cities (CIDRARC).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Learning Highlights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through our MetroBridge program, we supported experiential learning with municipal and community partners for <\/span><b>277 BU<\/b> <b>undergraduate and graduate students in 14 classes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. For the first time, the program partnered with classes from the Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine (CAMED) and the School of Hospitality (SHA).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/for-students\/fellowships\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">summer fellowship and internship program<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> continued to be a staple of connecting BU students with local governments. This year, graduate and undergraduate students spent their summer in Boston City Hall, working with the Mayor\u2019s Office of New Urban Mechanics, the Equity and Inclusion Cabinet, and Climate Ready Boston. For the first time, we provided undergraduate interns with housing support <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in addition<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to their internship stipend.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We awarded Alana Motley (CAS \/ GRS \u201824) the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/for-students\/initiative-on-cities-student-prize\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initiative on Cities Student Prize<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for Urban Studies minor undergraduate students. <\/span><b>Eleven<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> students graduated in 2024 with a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/for-students\/minor-in-urban-studies\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">minor in Urban Studies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Practice Highlights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hosted <\/span><b>34<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> events and critical conversations on campus and beyond, including the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gentrification\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">International Conference on Gentrification &amp; Displacement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 the first of its kind in over 20 years. This three-day interdisciplinary conference brought close to 250 scholars, organizers, and activists from 35 countries to BU and was supported by the National Science Foundation, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and several BU centers and departments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Led the founding of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonurbansalon.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Urban Salon<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a new seminar series to connect urbanists across Boston area institutions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Partnered with the Metropolitan College City Planning &amp; Urban Affairs program to launch a Transportation &amp; the City event series, led by practitioners and adjunct faculty Terry Regan (retired official at the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, U.S. DOT) and Rob DiAdamo (former Executive Director of the MBTA Commuter Rail).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Special Accolades:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Director<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/profile\/loretta-lees\/\"><b>Loretta Lees<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was awarded the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/2024\/07\/10\/director-loretta-lees-wins-international-planning-history-society-first-book-prize\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2024 International Planning History Society (IPHS) First Book Prize<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Defensible Space: Mobilisation in English Housing Policy and Practice<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/profile\/lucy-hutyra\/\"><b>Lucy Hutyra<\/b><\/a>, <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Urban-H Associate Director of Heat and former interim Director of the Initiative of Cities, was named a MacArthur Fellow and received the MacArthur Genius Grant.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/profile\/kenton-card\/\"><b>Kenton Card<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, our inaugural Postdoctoral Research Associate, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.derekhyra.com\/about\"><b>Derek Hyra<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, our External Advisory Board member, received prestigious awards from the Urban Affairs Association.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) is proud to release its 2024 Annual Report \u2014 marking 10 years since our founding and commitment to the betterment of cities.\u00a0 The achievements over the past year underscore our center\u2019s dedication to serving as an interdisciplinary hub for urbanists, bridging research and practice, and leading place-based experiential [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23085,"featured_media":19646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[178],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19010"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23085"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19010"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20093,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19010\/revisions\/20093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}