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

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

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

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

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

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

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. Undergraduate Student Opportunities: Manchester, England: Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) City of Boston, MA: Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Racial Equity (MORRE) City of Chelsea, MA: Open Data & Digital Communications Initiatives Graduate Student Opportunity: City of Boston, MA: Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM) Applications for all 2021 summer fellowships are due on Sunday, February 28, 2021.

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

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