Featured Initiative
Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance
In June 2023, the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) announced a partnership with the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN-SDSN) to produce a Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance. The Commission has a mandate to harness the insights of climate and finance experts, mayors, practitioners, and scholars to develop and champion innovative ideas and solutions for increasing urban SDG finance.
Global Urban Commons
The Global Urban Commons (the Commons), is a publicly-accessible, global directory of university-based urban research centers.The Commons, which includes more than 200 urban-research focused organizations from around the world, is a platform to build awareness about the breadth and depth of global urban research. The site is unique in that it reaches across disciplines, supports common research agendas, and fosters opportunities for collaboration between urbanists based at research centers around the world.
Penn IUR Roundtable on Anchor Institutions
Penn IUR Roundtable on Anchor Institutions (PRAI) is a leadership “think tank” that convenes leaders from anchor institutions, their respective civic collaborators (academic, government, and foundation partners), and technical experts for an intense full day of roundtable discussions. These Anchor Teams work with Penn IUR to develop a case study that outlines a compelling local challenge.
HUD Sustainability Indicators Project
Penn IUR, with funding from the Ford Foundation, worked with a team of Penn’s city planning doctoral students to develop the Sustainable Communities Indicator Catalog (SCIC) a web-based tool that enables communities to benchmark and track their progress toward sustainability. Penn IUR consulted extensively with experts and stakeholders to inform the development of this tool.
Innovation in Higher Education in Connecticut
Connecticut developed, with support from Penn IUR, a roadmap to foster innovation and entrepreneurship across the state’s public and private institutions of higher education.