{"id":2773,"date":"2021-02-12T15:47:09","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T20:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/?page_id=2773"},"modified":"2026-02-09T09:55:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T14:55:47","slug":"urban-governance-series","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/academics\/current-students\/urban-governance-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban Governance Workshop Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Urban Governance Series<\/em> <\/strong>is a series of lectures, discussions, and experiential learning activities organized in collaboration\u00a0with the\u00a0Boston University Initiative on Cities<\/a>. The series centers\u00a0<\/i>on\u00a0<\/i>the governance structure of the City of Boston and its key players, along with the real-world dynamics of policy development.<\/p>\n

The Urban Governance Series is required of all first-year trainees.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part 1: Local Governance Overview<\/h3>\n

A workshop titled, \u201cLocal Governance\u2014Power, Policy, and Communication\u201d will kick off the Urban Governance Series. In collaboration with the BU Initiative on Cities, it will provide an overview of the local politics and governance structures in the City of Boston, specifically.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part 2: State of the City Address<\/h3>\n

Each year, the Mayor of Boston delivers the State of the City address, outlining key successes from the past year and laying out priorities for the year ahead. URBAN Trainees can watch this asynchronously.<\/p>\n

\"Mayor
Mayor Michelle Wu delivers to 2025 State of the City address. Credit: Mayor’s Office<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part 3: State of the City Discussion<\/h3>\n

Following the Mayor’s State of the City speech, we join the BU Initiative on Cities to break down new initiatives, understand where environmental issues sit within upcoming priorities, and navigate how to get involved. We are often joined by a city staffer or elected official to get an insider’s perspective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part 4: Democracy in Action\u2014Observing a Civic Meeting<\/h3>\n

Building on the structures, policies, and initiatives within the city, URBAN trainees observe a civic meeting of their choice (city council hearing, state-level legislative hearing, community meeting, etc.) to\u00a0<\/span>become familiar with the mechanics of urban governance (aka \u201c<\/span>politics in the real world”) and learn more about their area of interest. Learn more and follow the instructions here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part 5: Stakeholder Meetings<\/h3>\n

Trainees expand their networks and begin the important work of building relationships with those who are relevant for their research and career interests through informational interviews.\u00a0 This can grow out of the civic meeting observation (see Part 4) and\/or be an important starting point for connecting with possible internship partners. The stakeholder meeting is an opportunity to hear more about someone’s leadership role tackling an urban environmental challenge, their career pathway, or their perspectives on your research and where the field is heading. Learn more and follow the instructions here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Urban Governance Series is a series of lectures, discussions, and experiential learning activities organized in collaboration\u00a0with the\u00a0Boston University Initiative on Cities. The series centers\u00a0on\u00a0the governance structure of the City of Boston and its key players, along with the real-world dynamics of policy development. The Urban Governance Series is required of all first-year trainees.   […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16791,"featured_media":0,"parent":262,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2773"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16791"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2773"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7371,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2773\/revisions\/7371"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/urban\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}