Initiative on Cities

Mission

The Initiative on Cities (IOC) seeks to bridge the worlds of academic research and the practice of urban governance. To fulfill that role, the IOC operates as both a convener and a catalyst. As a convener, the IOC brings mayors and municipal leaders together with academics from across disciplines to tackle pressing urban issues. As a catalyst, the IOC provides public service fellowships and supports and promotes research that directly contributes to more prosperous, vibrant, and livable cities.

Advancing Urban Leadership

The Initiative on Cities aims to research and address major issues facing urban mayors. Mayors face a diverse range of challenges, from economic development and public health to transportation infrastructure and climate change preparedness. In order to better understand these issues, the Initiative on Cities spearheads research at Boston University by providing seed funding and organizes bi-annual City Leadership Summits that convene academics and practitioners.

Promoting Urban Policies in Practice

To engage students, professors, and community members, the Initiative on Cities hosts monthly Urban Seminar series to provide a platform for professors, researchers, and professionals to engage in discussions and debates on urban policy issues.

Inspiring Future Leaders

As a part of the Boston University community, the Initiative on Cities inspires future leaders through work with undergraduate and graduate students. The IOC hosts speakers, provides course listings for students interested in pursuing urban issues academically during their time at Boston University, and provides Fellowship opportunities to students interested in working with local government.

City Leadership Summits

The Initiative on Cities hosts bi-annual conferences gathering mayors, urban leaders, academics, policy makers, and students from around the world to address pressing challenges facing cities.

Lessons from the Boston Marathon

The summit series kicked off in March 2014 with "Lessons from the Boston Marathon." The summit addressed crisis management and city resiliency and recovery after the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Keynote speakers included Mayor Menino, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, Boston Athletic Association Executive Director Tom Grilk, and One Fund Administrator Kenneth Feinberg.

Sea Level Rise and the Future of Coast Cities

In November 2014, "Sea Level Rise and the Future of Coast Cities" tackled issues of sustainability, urban infrastructure development, and mayoral approaches to planning for rising sea levels and changing coastlines. Keynote speakers included Mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey Christian Bollwage, City Councilor of Melbourne, Australia Aaron Wood, Chief of Environment, Energy & Open Space Brian Swett, Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future Director Professor Anthony Janetos, US District Court Judge Richard Stearns, and New England Aquarium Former President and CEO Bud Ris.

Fiscal Leadership and the Modern City

Most recently, the Initiative on Cities hosted "Fiscal Leadership and the Modern City" in April 2015. This summit addressed approaches to managing financial issues facing the contemporary city. Keynote speakers included Mayor Paul Soglin, Congressman Mike Capuano, former Deputy Emergency Manager of the City of Detroit Stacy Fox, and President of The Volcker Alliance Shelley Metzenbaum.

Urban Seminar Series

The Urban Seminar Series engages the Boston University community around timely issues facing city leaders.

The Open City

Beginning in September 2014, the Initiative on Cities began the series with "The Open City." This seminar explored the question of how cities gather, utilize, and analyze raw data, and turn that raw data into knowledge and policies that better urban spaces. Panelists included Professor Sucharita Gopal of Boston University, executive in residence at Boston University and co-founder of New Urban Mechanics Nigel Jacob, and Director of Research at the Boston Area Research Initiative and Assistant Professor at Northeastern University Dan O'Brien.

The Resilient City

Cities must prepare for catastrophic events of all kinds, from storms and floods to riots and contagious disease. "The Resilient City" examined how urban leaders are girding their cities for such threats. The BU faculty panel featured Lucy Hutyra, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environment, John Baillieul, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Wendy Heigar-Bernays, Associate Professor of Environmental Health.

The Inclusive City

"The Inclusive City" seminar addressed challenges to urban inclusivity highlighted by the civil unrest in response to the Eric Garner case in New York City and the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri. The seminar addressed issues of social, economic, and psychological inclusion in urban neighborhoods. Panelists included Clinical Assistant Professor at Boston University School of Social Work Phillipe Copeland, Professor of Economics at Boston University Robert Margo, Clinical Instructor at Boston University School of Education Carmen Torres, and Vice President of National Design Initiative on Enterprise Community Partners Katie Swenson.

Policing the City

After continued civil unrest, the Initiative on Cities hosted another seminar addressing issues between communities and their police forces. In "Policing the City," panelists examined how police practices impact urban neighborhoods, how diversity impacts policing practices and images, and how police can establish and cultivate trust and respect from their communities, and vice versa. Panelists included Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, Reverend Jeffery Brown, and Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Boston University's Metropolitan College Shea Cronin.

Teaching the City

"Teaching the City" looked at Boston University professors' approaches to teaching in and about the city of Boston. As Boston University shares nearly all its spaces with the City of Boston, the campus offers unique opportunities for faculty members to incorporate the city into their classroom and lesson plans. Panelists included Professor of History of Art & Architecture Daniel Bluestone, Sustainability Director Dennis Carlberg, Clinical Assistant Professor of Community Health Sciences Jacey Greece, Senior Lecturer in the College of Arts & Sciences Writing Program James Pasto, and Program Coordinator & Adjunct Professor of City Planning & Urban Affairs Madhu Dutta-Koehler.

The Cultural City

Most recently, the Initiative on Cities hosted "The Cultural City." This seminar addressed the diversity and distribution of culture of Boston, how Boston created its cultural legacy, and the ways in which urban culture has been changing over time. Panelists included Arts Editor of The Boston Globe Rebecca Ostriker, Associate Professor of Film at Boston University Charles Merzbacher, and Professor of Anthropology at Boston University Merry White.

Research

The Initiative on Cities spearheads, funds, and is affiliated with a variety of research projects underway at Boston University and the Boston area community.

Menino Survey of Mayors

The Menino Survey of Mayors, named in honor of the late IOC Co-Founder and the Former Mayor of Boston Tom Menino, is the first nationally-representative review of mayoral goals, priorities, and issues. Having gathered information from over 70 American mayors throughout the summer of 2014, the inaugural Survey's findings were released in October 2014. Data indicated that mayors across America were most concerned with aging infrastructure, sound fiscal management, and economic growth. These issues led mayors to rank economic development and quality of life improvement as some of their main goals moving forward. Other findings indicated significant partisan differences in policy prioritization.

Research Underway

Published Research

National Survey of Mayors

The "Research Spotlight: National Survey of Mayors" seminar, hosted at the Boston University campus in Washington, DC, featured a presentation of key findings by David Glick, Assistant Professor of Political Science and co-author of the 2014 Menino Survey of Mayors.

Student Fellowships

Dedicated to inspiring the next generation of urban leaders, the IOC connects BU students with Fellowship opportunities in local government.

2014 IOC Summer Fellows

The 2014 class of IOC Summer Fellows worked with the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics in Boston, MA, the City Council in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, Oregon.

2015 IOC Summer Fellows

The 2015 class of IOC Summer Fellows work with the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics in Boston, MA, the Mayor's Office in Providence, RI, and the Sustainability Branch for the city of Melbourne, Australia.