Initiative on Cities

Initiative on Cities

@buoncities.bsky.social

🏙️🚶🚋🚎🚲 Interdisciplinary Center for Urban Research & Learning @bostonu.bsky.social. Work in, on, and with cities locally to globally. Led by Director @lorettaclees.bsky.social. 🔗 https://www.bu.edu/ioc/

626 followers212 following73 posts

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

Paper submissions should include the following, emailed to either llees@bu.edu; japonica@bu.edu; or joshlown@bu.edu: Name, Email address, Affiliation, Country, Student? Yes/No, Career stage, Abstract title, Abstract text (max 300 words) Submissions are due by September 28, 2026.

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

🏘️🏗️🏙️ Today, we release findings from the 2025 #MeninoSurvey, the only nationally representative survey of American mayors that explores what mayors see as the main drivers of rising housing costs, housing policy, and political barriers they face to building more homes. surveyofmayors.com 🧵⬇️

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Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

🏘️🏗️🏙️ Today, we release findings from the 2025 #MeninoSurvey, the only nationally representative survey of American mayors that explores what mayors see as the main drivers of rising housing costs, housing policy, and political barriers they face to building more homes. surveyofmayors.com 🧵⬇️

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Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

Public meetings are a paradox. 44% of mayors say they reduce the amount of housing that gets built, and 68% say they don’t represent community views. Yet strong majorities still see them as useful—for gauging public sentiment and building trust between communities and developers.

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

🏘️🏗️🏙️ Today, we release findings from the 2025 #MeninoSurvey, the only nationally representative survey of American mayors that explores what mayors see as the main drivers of rising housing costs, housing policy, and political barriers they face to building more homes. surveyofmayors.com 🧵⬇️

View full thread
Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

🏘️🏗️🏙️ Today, we release findings from the 2025 #MeninoSurvey, the only nationally representative survey of American mayors that explores what mayors see as the main drivers of rising housing costs, housing policy, and political barriers they face to building more homes. surveyofmayors.com 🧵⬇️

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Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

While allowing more apartments near transit is popular across party lines, there are still gaps: nearly all Democratic mayors (91%) support it, compared with 63% of Republican mayors. 80% of Democratic mayors support converting underused commercial space to housing, compared with 25% of Republicans.

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

And on some issues, there’s no clear agreement at all. Mayors are evenly divided on whether homelessness is primarily a housing affordability problem, with roughly equal shares (20–25%) in each camp—from strong agreement to strong disagreement.

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

🏘️🏗️🏙️ Today, we release findings from the 2025 #MeninoSurvey, the only nationally representative survey of American mayors that explores what mayors see as the main drivers of rising housing costs, housing policy, and political barriers they face to building more homes. surveyofmayors.com 🧵⬇️

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Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

These differences shape how mayors approach solutions. Democratic mayors are more likely to see increasing supply as key to lowering costs—and to support regulatory reforms, countering popular media narratives that blue cities and states are prone to such governance failures.

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

Strong majorities of mayors support policies to make it easier to build multifamily housing—through zoning changes and faster permitting. Some ideas draw strong bipartisan backing, such as allowing city staff to approve new housing permits that comply with all existing rules (~70%).

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

🏘️🏗️🏙️ Today, we release findings from the 2025 #MeninoSurvey, the only nationally representative survey of American mayors that explores what mayors see as the main drivers of rising housing costs, housing policy, and political barriers they face to building more homes. surveyofmayors.com 🧵⬇️

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Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

Housing costs are rising, and mayors point to a clear cause: not enough homes. 3-in-4 say underbuilding is a major driver of rising costs, and 80% say competition for too few homes to rent or buy is making it worse.

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

🏘️🏗️🏙️ Today, we release findings from the 2025 #MeninoSurvey, the only nationally representative survey of American mayors that explores what mayors see as the main drivers of rising housing costs, housing policy, and political barriers they face to building more homes. surveyofmayors.com 🧵⬇️

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

As Congress debates housing legislation, the 2025 #MeninoSurvey makes clear that mayors believe that supply matters for affordability. 75% of US mayors now believe that increasing the supply of market-rate housing will reduce housing prices (up from 60% in 2021).

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

80% of mayors say their cities have too little multifamily housing—and more than 60% report a shortage of rental housing. At the same time, 58% believe there’s too little single-family housing, while just 9% say there’s too much.

Initiative on Cities reposted

Japonica Brown-Saracino
@jbrownsaracino.bsky.social

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...

Initiative on Cities@buoncities.bsky.social

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

Initiative on Cities
@buoncities.bsky.social

🧋 🍵 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...

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

Initiative on Cities reposted

Dr. Kathryn Atherton
@k8eatherton.bsky.social

🌳 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...

doi.orgDisruption of the oak tree microbiome with urbanization - Nature CitiesUrbanization 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...