Initiatives

Penn IUR undertakes projects and research initiatives, develops partnerships, and hosts conferences that aim to develop and expand knowledge of the urban landscape. Our initiatives focus on three critical topic areas: building the sustainable and inclusive 21st-century city; innovative urban development strategies; and the role of anchor institutions in urban places.

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Cities and Contagion: Lessons from COVID-19

The Cities and Contagion: Lessons from COVID-19 initiative brings together experts across scholarly disciplines who can help interpret the coronavirus pandemic’s implications for urbanization and the subsequent responses to its human and economic dimensions. This work will inform public and private decision-makers as they adapt cities to be more resilient, inclusive, and innovative. The initiative has four parts: publications, a web-based resource library, convenings (both online and, when appropriate, in person) and research projects.

City Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Financing Initiative

C2IFI is a new initiative of Penn IUR and Perry World House to enable mayors to create inclusive and prosperous cities by locking in climate-resilient infrastructure investments that yield economic, social and environmental benefits for decades.

Disaster in Urban Landscapes: Preparedness, Response and Recovery

The topic of disaster in urban landscapes—preparedness, response and recovery—has gained increasing visibility in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. Penn IUR aims to promote and further understanding of this critical issue through its publications and conferences.

Forum on Urban Informality

The Penn IUR Forum on Urban Informality is a space for graduate and post-graduate researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas on the topic of urban informality.

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.

Housing, Affordability and Financing Systems

Penn IUR seeks to promote scholarship and discussion related to the housing market, including affordability and financing systems, through its events and publications.

Initiative for State and Local Fiscal Stability

The Initiative for State and Local Fiscal Stability draws its inspiration from the efforts of Richard Ravitch, former Lieutenant Governor of New York State, who will serve as Chair, and William Glasgall, the Initiative’s lead, who created the Truth and Integrity in Government Finance Initiative at the Volcker Alliance.

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.

Rapid Urbanization

With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Penn IUR explores the topic of rapid urbanization— both understanding how cities create and transfer knowledge=, and identifying policy interventions to support rapidly urbanizing cities.

Center for Globalization Studies in an Urban World (GUW)

The Center for Globalization Studies in an Urban World is a center founded within Penn IUR that supports research and teaching on globalization—at Penn and beyond.

Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (CBEI) Research Digest

In 2012-2013, Penn IUR launched the Research Digest to cover the findings, success stories, and case studies coming out of the Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (formerly the Energy Efficient Buildings Hub), one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) three innovation clusters, based at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

Energy Smart Communities Initiative (ESCI) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

In partnership with the Taiwan Institute for Economic Research (TIER), Penn IUR worked to develop and maintain a knowledge-sharing platform (KSP) for the Energy Smart Communities Initiative (ESCI) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Energy Working Group (EWG).

Food Security in a Rapidly Urbanizing World

Penn IUR promotes dialogue and fosters multidisciplinary collaboration among scholars in addressing food security, a critical issue in today’s rapidly urbanizing world. In March 2013, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and Penn’s Office of the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives., and in partnership with the Penn School of Veterinary Medicine and a Faculty Steering Committee representing nine schools and six centers at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn IUR convened the “Feeding Cities: Food Security in a Rapidly Urbanizing World” conference.

Gap Analysis of APEC Energy Projects

In December 2017, Penn IUR concluded an analysis of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)-sponsored energy efficiency projects, recommending priorities for future funding by illustrating current gaps. This work was a continuation of Penn IUR’s partnership with APEC economies to promote the adoption of energy efficient technologies and practices across the Asia Pacific by supporting knowledge transfer and the adoption of best practices.

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.

Land Use and Policy Studies

The City of Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, along with other city agencies, sought to address vacant land issues in Philadelphia. As part of this effort, RDA engaged the Econsult Corporation and Penn IUR to estimate the costs of vacant land to the City, and to assess the feasibility of urban agriculture on vacant land owned by the RDA.

Metrolab Network

Penn IUR has joined other universities across the nation to create a “Metro Lab Network” of university and city government partnerships committed to collaboration focused on 21st century solutions to the challenges confronting infrastructure, city services, and civic engagement. The Metro Lab Network will bring together university researchers with city decision makers to research, develop, and deploy (“RD&D”) technology‐ and analytically‐based solutions to the problems facing the systems and infrastructure on which our citizens, cities, and regional economies depend.

PJM Electricity Price Ticker and Energy Literacy Education Campaign

As part of the Energy Efficient Building Hub (EEB Hub) project (now the Consortium for Building Energy Innovation), and in partnership with PJM Interconnection LLC Penn IUR developed an electricity price ticker, a web-based and desktop app which allows people to track the wholesale price of electricity.

Reinventing Older Communities

Through an ongoing partnership with the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, Penn IUR fosters research and collaboration related to the growth and revitalization of older cities.

RENEWW Zones

Galvanizing Renewable Energy, Nutrition, Environment, Water, and Waste (RENEWW) Innovation Zones in Peri-Urban Communities, where everyone lives, works, eats, and thrives sustainably.

The Rise of the City in China

Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR was awarded a three year funding opportunity for her work on "The Rise of the City in China". This initiative, in sponsorship with Peking University and the Wharton School, will look at various aspects of development in China and will result in an annual conference each year.

UN Habitat III Conference

Penn IUR exhibited faculty research as it relates to the New Urban Agenda at the UN Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador.

UN-HABITAT World Urban Campaign

Penn IUR is a partner with UN-HABITAT, the United Nations agency for human settlements. The goal of UN-HABITAT is to help the urban poor by bridging the urban divides and transforming cities to cleaner, greener, safer, smarter and more equitable places with better opportunities where everyone can live in dignity.

Urban Ecosystem Services and Decision-Making

Penn IUR partners with the Wharton GIS Lab on a research collaborative, the Spatial Integration Laboratory for Urban Systems (SILUS), to study ecological, environmental, and socioeconomic issues involved in urban and regional development.

Urban Education and Workforce Opportunity

Through expert roundtables, lectures, conferences, and publications, Penn IUR promoted discussion and highlighted important research and discussion related to urban education and workforce opportunity.

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