Boston’s Chinatown: Community, Power, and Placemaking
Held on Thursday, April 15, 2021 Watch a recording or read a recap below. Recap by Claudia Chiappa On April 15, 2021 the Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC), BU Arts Initiative, and BU Diversity & Inclusion hosted a virtual discussion focused on the history and legacy of Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood. The... More
Getting to Yes on Housing in Greater Boston and Framingham
Held on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Watch a recording or read a recap below. Recap by Claudia Chiappa On Tuesday, April 13, the Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) and Abundant Housing MA hosted a discussion about the politics of housing and the challenges behind reforms. Mayor Yvonne Spicer of the City of... More
Downtown After COVID: Will Urban Centers be the Same?
Held on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Watch a recording or read a recap below. Recap by Claudia Chiappa On Wednesday, April 17 the Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) and City Planning & Urban Affairs (CPUA) Program hosted a discussion on the future of downtown spaces in the post-pandemic era. Moderated by... More
An Inside Look into the Experience of our 2020–2021 NLC Menino Fellow, Daniel Daponte
By Claudia Chiappa Daniel Daponte, the Initiative on Cities’ (IOC) 2020–2021 National League of Cities (NLC) Menino Fellow, is part-way through his second semester of the fellowship, working with the NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education and Families this spring. A junior pursuing a BA in Environmental Analysis and Policy with a... More
2020 Menino Survey of Mayors Report on Urban Parks and the Public Realm
Mayors Expect Residents Will Spend More Time in Outdoor Public Spaces, But Few Using Pandemic as Opportunity to Reimagine These Areas Findings Among Those Released Today by the Boston University Initiative on Cities’ Menino Survey of Mayors, Supported by Citi, The Rockefeller Foundation, and The Trust for Public Land The past year... More
MetroBridge Fall 2020 Recap: Insight into Community Processes in Framingham to Help Inform the Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative
By Claudia Chiappa The COVID-19 pandemic and the continuous racial tensions in the country led several local governments to recently rethink their efforts towards equity and inclusion. The City of Framingham’s Racial Equity Initiative aims to advance the city’s efforts in equity and inclusion through educating residents, engaging the in community... More
Lessons from Paris: The Changing Landscape of Urban Transportation after COVID
Watch or read a recap from our discussion on the future of bike and pedestrian friendly cities. More
We the Possibility: Harnessing Public Entrepreneurship to Solve Our Most Urgent Problems
Held on Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 12pm, watch a recording and read a recap More
Justice and Inclusion: Lessons for Boston from New York and Chicago
Daniel Daponte (CAS ’22) is IOC’s 2020-2021 National League of Cities (NLC) Menino Fellow. Daniel graduated with a BA in Environmental Analysis and Policy with a minor in Urban Studies. Daniel spent the fall semester with IOC Director and Professor Graham Wilson through this Fellowship in a Directed Study program. Daniel’s research project focused... More
Emily Robbins, Founding & Inaugural MetroBridge Program Manager, Stepping Down After Three Years
After three years as MetroBridge Program Manager at the Initiative on Cities (IOC), Emily Robbins is stepping down from her role at Boston University. “It has been incredibly rewarding to build a program that engages students in local government and reveals how decisions made by city leaders shape our lives and... More
MetroBridge Fall 2020 Recap: Community-Driven Design Concepts to Honor the Lives Lost to COVID-19 in Revere, MA
By Claudia Chiappa With 2020 behind us, it is now more important than ever to remember and honor everything that was lost during the coronavirus pandemic. This sentiment sparked a collaboration between MetroBridge, the City of Revere and a BU class in the College of Fine Arts. The MetroBridge program helps connect... More
Race, Prison, Justice: Illuminating Story Through the Arts
The Initiative on Cities is proud to be a supporting partner of Race, Prison, Justice: Illuminating Story Through the Arts, a part of the Prison Arts Project of the BU College of Fine Arts. Members of the BU Community are invited to register for workshops that will explore the intersection... More
Initiative on Cities Holds Inaugural Public Impact Scholars Program
The Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) held its inaugural Public Impact Scholars training program on January 19–21, 2021. The program, held virtually after a Spring 2020 postponement due to COVID-19, was developed by the IOC to support faculty interested in pursuing state and local policy impact. It provides foundational... More
Animal City: The Domestication of America
Recap by Claudia Chiappa On Tuesday, February 9, 2021, the Boston University Initiative on Cities and the BU History Department hosted a discussion with Andrew Robichaud, Assistant Professor of History at BU, and Catherine McNeur, Associate Professor of Environmental History and Public History at Portland State University. Robichaud and McNeur discussed... More
2021 Summer Fellowships for BU Students
The IOC is accepting applications from BU undergraduate and graduate students for our 2021 Summer Fellowships with the Cities of Boston, MA; Chelsea, MA; and Manchester, UK. Please note, the application deadline has now closed for all programs. Undergraduate Student Opportunities: Manchester, England: Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Applicants must be current juniors... More
2020 Menino Survey of Mayors Report on Policing and Protests
Mayors Largely Support Black Lives Matter Protests, Recognize Racial Disparities in Treatment by Police, But Are Not Embracing Dramatic Change to Policing, According to New Survey Findings Among Those from the Boston University Initiative on Cities’ Menino Survey of Mayors, Supported by Citi and The Rockefeller Foundation In spite of months of... More
Coming of Age in Jim Crow DC: Navigating the Politics of Everyday Life
Held on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021. Watch a recording and read a recap below. Recap by Claudia Chiappa On February 3, 2021, the Boston University Initiative on Cities (IOC) kicked off its Race, Place, and Space series with a discussion featuring Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies Paula Austin. Austin discussed... More
Request for Proposals Now Open: 2021 Early Stage Urban Research Awards
The Initiative on Cities (IOC) is pleased to announce our annual Request for Proposals is now open for our annual Early Stage Urban Research Awards. Proposals are due by 8:00am on Monday, March 15, 2021. These seed grants, with awards of up to $10,000, support research addressing urban challenges and urban... More
MetroBridge Program Connects BU Students, Faculty & Local Governments in Fall 2020 Projects
By Claudia Chiappa In the fall 2020 semester, MetroBridge continued to benefit students at Boston University and local governments despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. MetroBridge is an Initiative on Cities program that connects students and local communities by embedding real-world projects for local governments into courses across Boston University, More
Faculty Friday: Phillipe Copeland
Faculty Friday is a series highlighting members of the Initiative on Cities (IOC) Faculty Advisory Board, by exploring their work on campus and in the city. This week, we are highlighting Phillipe Copeland, Clinical Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work. By Claudia Chiappa Claudia Chiappa: Tell me a little bit... More