Awarded annually to BU faculty and graduate students under faculty supervision, these seed grants of up to $10,000 support research addressing urban challenges and urban populations in the U.S. and abroad.
In Spring 2021, the Initiative on Cities issued its seventh request for proposals to support early stage academic research endeavors focused on urban challenges and urban populations, both domestic and global. We received 37 applications from 20 schools and departments at BU, and we are thrilled to announce we have funded 14 projects, including 8 […]
PI: Jennifer Greif Green, PhD, Associate Professor, Special Education, BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development Co-PIs: Astraea Augsberger, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work (SSW); Christina Borba, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, BU School of Medicine; Boston Medical Center; Margaret Carroll, PhD Student, BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development; […]
PI: Kelley Gourley, PhD Student, Department of Anthropology, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Co-PI: Ayşe Parla, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts & Sciences This dissertation research project centers how Syrian refugee youth and families, as well as their Jordanian peers, conceptualize the educational spaces they are able to access in light […]
PI: Yasuko Kanno, Associate Professor, Language and Literacy Education, BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development Co-PI: Jonathan Zaff, Research Professor, Applied Human Development; Director, CERES Institute for Children & Youth, BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development While the COVID pandemic has disrupted the education of all U.S. youth, it has disproportionately […]
PI: Noor Toraif, PhD Candidate, School of Social Work (SSW) Co-PI: Astraea Augsberger, PhD, Assistant Professor, SSW Youth involved with child welfare system (CWS) are entering the juvenile justice system (JJS) at rates far higher than their peers, and Black, Indigenous, and Youth of Color (BIYOC) represent a disproportionate percentage of youth with dual-involvement. Scholarship […]
PI: Spencer Piston, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, College of Arts & Sciences Co-PIs: Chas Walker, PhD Student, Department of Political Science, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences; Nick Henninger-Ayoub, PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Scholars of urban politics have long noted the limited power of mayors […]
PI: Martin Fiszbein, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, College of Arts & Sciences Co-PIs: Sam Bazzi, Associate Professor, School of Global Policy and Strategy & Department of Economics, UC San Diego; Thomas Pearson, PhD Student, Department of Economics, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences While racial violence and racist ideology are associated with the legacy […]
PI: André de Quadros, EdD, Professor, Music Education, College of Fine Arts The Slaying of Innocence is a music-theatre work that portrays the true stories of two African American men who were given life sentences in prison at the ages of 15 and 16. Their fights to overthrow their convictions, and their challenges returning to society […]
PI: Mary Battenfeld, Clinical Professor, American and New England Studies Program, College of Arts & Sciences Co-PI: Perri Meldon, PhD Student, American and New England Studies Program, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences This project makes more visible Boston’s history of activist African Americans, and engages with historic preservationists and local communities in building a […]