Initiative on Cities

I'm very much looking forward to this event at Boston University on February 4th! Thanks to the Initiative on Cities for organizing! bsky.app/profile/buon...

The Death and Life of Gentrification: A New Map of a Persistent Idea by Japonica Brown-Saracino

Japonica Brown-Saracino

Next week, Feb 4 at 3:00pm EST, @buoncities.bsky.social welcomes @jbrownsaracino.bsky.social for a discussion of her book, The Death and Life of Gentrification, and her research into the changing meaning of gentrification in contemporary life and its implications.

Register here: buff.ly/blXD0Sm

Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities for the launch of the Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab (GUDL) – a new hub bringing together faculty, students, practitioners, and community partners committed to understanding urban change, culture, and inequality. At the center of the launch is a discussion of Professor Japonica Brown-Saracino’s important new book, The Death and Life of Gentrification. Brown-Saracino explores how the term “gentrification” has evolved far beyond Ruth Glass’s original meaning – shifting from a description of neighborhood change to a socially charged metaphor for cultural appropriation, upscaling, and the loss of authenticity. Drawing on film, literature, journalism, and art, the book illuminates how gentrification has become a lens through which we understand transformations in everyday life and popular culture. Brown-Saracino will be joined by Karilyn Crockett (MIT), Lawrence Vale (MIT), and Stephanie Ternullo (Harvard University) for a conversation on the book. Following the discussion, the program will feature lightning talks showcasing recent BU research on gentrification and displacement, as well as next steps for GUDL. Learn more and register on our website at bu.edu/ioc/ideas-to-action

Join us for the launch of our Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab (GUDL), featuring a discussion with
@jbrownsaracino.bsky.social on her new book "The Death & Life of Gentrification!"

🕒 February 4, 2026, 3:00 – 5:00 PM
📍 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215

🔗 bu.edu/ioc/ideas-to-action

🏙️ Half a month ago, the Initiative on Cities hosted our very first BU City Hall Day, bringing BU researchers together with City of Boston staff, building relationships with City Hall leaders, and bridging gaps between research and municipal policymaking.

Read our recap: www.bu.edu/ioc/2025/12/...

YouTube video by Boston University Initiative on Cities 🧋 🍵 Boba’s been popping off in Boston with signs of commercial gentrification (boba-ification)

🧋 🍵 Boba’s been popping off lately in Boston, especially in the Chinatown area. We ventured out for sweet drinks and to examine the impacts—and signs of commercial gentrification (boba-ification)—as consumers and businesses shift toward new products and tastes.

🔗 youtube.com/shorts/1WpPb...

Congratulations to our postdoctoral research associate Josh Lown and Director @lorettaclees.bsky.social for receiving an Institute of Human Geography grant on building a toolkit with and for activists and organizers to advocate for new green space while minimizing gentrification and displacement.

Congratulations @kaibosworth.bsky.social, @lorettaclees.bsky.social, and @rrr3006.bsky.social for 2025 IHG Research Grant Award!!

Are you researching climate change, human mobility, and housing? If so, join us in Nola (January) for "Multiplied Displacements: The Climate-Housing Nexus" (free registration & some travel funding available) w/ @uoftcities.bsky.social & @buoncities.bsky.social architecture.tulane.edu/events/multi...

Join us for a virtual discussion of Urban Health in Africa, co-edited by Boston University Associate Professor of Global Health, Elaine Nsoesie. The event will feature contributing authors highlighting case studies from the volume and a panel conversation on Africa’s rapid urbanization and its implications for health, prosperity, and sustainability. Essays in the book explore a range of topics—from housing to climate change—across diverse African cities. Contributing authors sharing: Blessing Mberu, Senior Research Scientist and the head of population dynamics and urbanization, African Population and Health Research Center; Dina Machuve, Co-Founder and CTO, DevData Analytics; Jane Weru, Executive Director, Akiba Mashinani Trust; Deo Okure, Head of Research & Global Partnerships, AirQo; Elizabeth Bakibinga, Legal Adviser, Commonwealth Secretariat, London, UK

Join the @buoncities.bsky.social and @busph.bsky.social for a virtual discussion of Urban Health in Africa, co-edited by BU Associate Professor Elaine Nsoesie! The event will feature a panel on case studies on Africa’s urbanization, health, and prosperity.

Register: www.bu.edu/ioc/2025/10/...

Disruption of the oak tree microbiome with urbanization - Nature Cities Urbanization disrupts oak tree microbiomes by reducing beneficial fungi and increasing plant and human pathogens across leaves, roots and soils, with consequences for tree health, urban climate mitiga...

🌳 Big news! My paper “Disruption of the oak tree microbiome with urbanization” is now out in Nature Cities! 🏙️🌿
Cities are full of life we don’t see, including microbes that live in and on trees.
🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s442...

Great talk @buoncities.bsky.social last night by Danny Abrahamson on the architecture of rebuilt city halls

Contested meaning of symbolic space in East Asian cities sponsored by @buoncities.bsky.social tonight

We’re excited to introduce our new Postdoctoral Research Associate, Josh Lown! Building on his work in East Boston, he aims to develop a green gentrification toolkit for activists and advocates to use in creating more green spaces while minimizing displacement.

Q&A🔗 www.bu.edu/ioc/2025/09/...

YouTube video by Boston University Initiative on Cities BU Urbanist POV: Shannon Whittaker #bostonuniversity #urban #gentrification

BU Urbanist POV: Meet Shannon Whittaker, a postdoctoral scholar @buciss.bsky.social and @buoncities.bsky.social affiliate whose research intersects gentrification (and urban renewal), race, and health.

📹 youtube.com/shorts/ND2Px...

Live now in Boston hosted by @buoncities.bsky.social. It was a pleasure to discuss this talk by Dr Youjeong Oh on "Development, Dispossession, and Desires in Jeju" today, 18 Sep. 2025. Link to the event here: www.bu.edu/ioc/events/e...

Cover of the 2025 Boston University Initiative on Cities Annual Report

🔖🥳 We’re excited to share our 2025 Annual Report!

We deepened our role as an interdisciplinary hub for urbanists, bridging research and practice and expanding connections with partners locally, nationally, and globally.

Read the report: drive.google.com/file/d/1Ok_8...

Paper by Josh Lown @buoncities.bsky.social new post doc in this issue:

Global Alliance signed: @buoncities.bsky.social w/ SMU Urban Institute, School of Cities Toronto, Melbourne Center for Cities & LSE Geography and Environment

Developing Place-Based Learning Opportunities to Support Climate Change Education in Somerville Public Schools

PI: @eveimanz.bsky.social, Associate Professor of Science Education, @buwheelock.bsky.social

Co-PIs: Genelle Diaz-Silveira & Angel Osorio Pizarro, Ph.D. Students, Wheelock College

Occupational Heat & Cooling Strategies: A Pilot Study

PI: @mscammell.bsky.social, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, @busph.bsky.social

Co-PIs: @patriciafabian.bsky.social, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, SPH; @jonylee.bsky.social, Ph.D. Student, Environmental Health

Heat, Health, and Hurricanes: Urban Resilience versus the Long Mortality Shadow of Cooling Disruptions

PI: Ian Sue Wing, Professor, @buearth.bsky.social

Co-PIs: Jiahang He, Ph.D. Student, Earth and Environment; ‪‪@suzannasumkhuu.bsky.social‬‬, Ph.D. Student, Earth and Environment

We're proud to announce the 2025 recipients of our 11th request for proposals for the Early Stage Urban Research Awards!

These seed grants support early-stage academic research focused on urban challenges and urban populations across various disciplines and scopes.

🔗 www.bu.edu/ioc/2025/05/...

@buoncities.bsky.social Exec Director in discussion with State Rep Vargas

A talk not to miss with @lorettaclees.bsky.social (Director of @buoncities.bsky.social and Visiting Professor, LSE Department of Geography and Environment), discussing her latest work on anti-displacement toolkit. On 20-June, 4pm, hybrid. Part of the Urban Salon. Link: www.lse.ac.uk/geography-an...

Day 2 public impact scholars @buoncities.bsky.social

The Initiative on Cities proudly celebrates our External Advisory Board member, Dominic Moulden, for receiving an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Boston University’s 2025 Commencement!

🔗 www.bu.edu/ioc/2025/05/...

You can learn more about our 2025 Public Impact Scholars on our website: www.bu.edu/ioc/2025/02/...

• Julia Wagner | Postdoctoral Associate, Earth and Environment
• Shannon Whittaker | Postdoctoral Associate, CISS
• @nigreaux.bsky.social | Assistant Professor of Macro Practice
• @marydwillis.bsky.social | Assistant Professor of Epidemiology

• Ian Smith | Research Scientist, Earth and Environment
• Keith Spangler | Clinical Assistant Professor of Health Sciences
• Amanda Tarullo | Associate Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences
• Kathryn Thompson | Assistant Professor of Community Health Sciences

• @mollyrichard.bsky.social | Postdoctoral Associate, Center for Innovation in Social Science
• Kaila Rudolph | Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
• Emily Ryan | Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
• Sylvia Shangani | Assistant Professor of Community Health Sciences