Examining the Role of Crime, Race, & Politics in City‐Level Crime Control Outputs
Principal Investigator Assistant Professor Shea Cronin will construct a cross‐sectional dataset of large cities which can be used to test questions about crime concentration, segregation and crime control outputs. Professor Cronin will address the following research questions: To what extent are measures of the geographic concentration of crime (compared to the... More
Closing the Opportunity Gap in Early Education and Care by Recruiting and Training High Quality Literacy Teachers
Principal Investigator Associate Professor Stephanie Curenton, in collaboration with Paul Leech, Chief Operating Officer of the Boston-based childcare provider Nurtury, Inc., will analyze cultural competency training and programs for early childhood educators intended to improve outcomes for urban preschool students. Over the course of this research project, Professor Curenton and Nurtury will... More
Dehumanization in the City: How Urban Ghetto Black Male Imagery Activates Dehumanizing Attitudes toward Black People
Principal Investigator Through his research, Political Science Assistant Professor Spencer Piston seeks to address the problem of urban police violence against black people by focusing on their dehumanization. Specifically, he will identify conditions under which this form of prejudice shapes public attitudes and, in doing so, develop methods to combat dehumanization. More
Summer Mental Health Access for Urban Youth
Principal Investigators Associate Professor Jennifer Greif Green in collaboration with Assistant Professor Elizabeth Bettini, Professor Donna Pincus and Ph.D. candidate Rachel Oblath will investigate mental health service access for urban youth during the three summer months when school is not in session. The aim of this research is to examine whether and where... More
Armored Cities: Violence and Urban Seclusion in Latin America
Principal Investigator Sociology Assistant Professor Ana Villarreal seeks to examine a new form of urban seclusion taking place in municipalities and communes across Latin American metropoles in response to increased violence and fear. Villarreal is targeting cities that have created enclaves of gated communities, dubbing them armored cities. They are characterized... More
Mapping Amman, Jordan
Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator Professor Betty Anderson, in cooperation with Georgetown University Associate Professor Fida Adely, seek to conduct a mapping study in order to understand the modern population of Amman. A growing private sector and Jordan’s status as one of the safest countries in the Middle East has made Amman a... More
Protecting Urban Water Sources
Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator Associate Professor Linda Doerrer with Ph.D. candidate Jessica Elinburg recently developed a pre-catalyst that uses solar energy to reduce nitrate in water. Pollution of urban water sources with excess nitrate presents a significant problem for cities and city residents. Nitrate-enriched rivers, lakes, and ponds fertilize the rapid growth... More
Upcoming Research Spotlight on Innovative Governance
Join the Initiative on Cities for a Research Spotlight featuring Visiting Scholar Giorgia Nesti from the University of Padua on Thursday, June 22, from 12:00pm -1:30pm. Assistant Professor Nesti will share her research on the challenges and opportunities of innovation at the local level, including qualitative studies from Amsterdam, Barcelona, Boston, More
Upcoming Event: Street of the Future Workshop
The first in a three-part series, Street of the Future: Workshop 1, hosted by Boston University, will bring together city leaders, utilities, planners and academic researchers to identify barriers and challenges to coordinated infrastructure management in aging cities and explore emerging solutions.
IOC Intern in Boston Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Racial Equity
The Initiative on Cities, in partnership with the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, is thrilled to introduce Boston University undergraduate student, Omolara "Lara" Adekeye, as our first intern in the Boston Mayor's Office of Resilience and Racial Equity. Lara will be working with Chief Resilience Officer Dr. Atyia Martin... More
Menino Survey Authors Publish Article in Publius
Lead authors of the Menino Survey of Mayors and Assistant Professors of Political Science Katherine Levine Einstein and David Glick published their article, Cities in American Federalism: Evidence on State–Local Government Conflict from a Survey of Mayors, in the acclaimed Publius: The Journal of Federalism. Using data from the Menino Survey of Mayors research... More
Crime and Public Housing: A General Equilibrium Analysis
Principal Investigator: Economics Ph.D. candidate Jesse Bruhn seeks to quantify the impact of ambitious public housing redevelopment projects—specifically the Plan for Transformation project in Chicago—on the distribution of criminal activity within city limits. The Plan for Transformation project was a part of the federal government’s shift in support for housing assistance... More
Dehumanization in the City: How Urban Ghetto Black Male Imagery Activates Dehumanizing Attitudes Toward Black People
Principal Investigator: Through his research, Political Science Assistant Professor Spencer Piston seeks to address the problem of urban police violence against black people by focusing on their dehumanization. Specifically, he will identify conditions under which this form of prejudice shapes public attitudes and, in doing so, develop methods to combat dehumanization. More
Partner Event: Charter School City
We are pleased to partner with Marcus Winters, Associate Professor at the BU School of Education, to co-host an Education Research Seminar, Charter School City: Post-Katrina New Orleans School Reforms, Their Effects on Students and Schools, and What They Mean for the Future of American Education. The seminar, scheduled for Wednesday, More
Apply Now: National League of Cities Fellowship
The Initiative on Cities is accepting applications for the 2017-2018 National League of Cities Menino Fellowship. The NLC Menino Fellowship provides one Boston University undergraduate student with the opportunity to explore an interest in public service, city-level programs and policies, and municipal leadership on behalf of children, youth, and families through... More
Upcoming Film Screening: Boston’s North End
Join the Initiative on Cities and the Italian Consulate for a documentary screening of Boston's North End: An Italian-American Story. Produced by the North End Historical Society, this film chronicles the vibrant history of the Italian-American community in Boston. This special screening will be held on Thursday, April 6th, 6pm-8:30pm at... More
Upcoming Seminar: Race in Education
How have racial disparities impacted the education system in Boston and the Boston region? Join us on Wednesday April 5th, from 12pm-1:30pm at the Initiative on Cities, 75 Bay State Road, to hear from practitioners, researchers and other partners working to identify and eliminate racial inequity in our schools and classrooms. Panelists include Colin... More
Last Call for Urban Research Seed Funding Applications
The 2017 Early Stage Urban Research Awards provide seed funding to Boston University faculty and graduate students working on urban-related research with awards of up to $10,000 each. Proposal submissions are due Friday, March 31st. Apply now!
Meet Our 2017 Summer Fellows
We're proud to share that this summer, we'll fund four IOC Summer Fellows in the City of Boston's Office of Resilience and Racial Equity; the City of Boston's Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics; the City of Providence's Mayor's Innovation Department; and in New Economy Manchester in the City of... More
Missed it? Catch up on Cities & Kids
More than 80% of American youth live in urban areas. And each day, children who live, play and go to school in cities are shaped by their built, natural and social environments. How do cities help some of their most vulnerable residents – children – achieve their full development potential?... More