Annual Report

Advancing Urban Transformation: 2022-2023 Penn IUR Annual Report

October 5, 2023

Current Themes

Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development

The 2022–2023 Annual Report for the Penn Institute for Urban Research documents the Institute’s research initiatives, publications, events, and instructional activities over the 2022–2023 academic year.

A Message from Penn IUR’s Co-Directors and Advisory Board Chair

Our mission to inform sustainable and equitable cities is particularly relevant due to the post-COVID complex economic, social, and environmental challenges facing cities. We sought to accomplish this through an eventful roster of research, publications, convenings, and student opportunities over the past academic year.

In the domestic arena, several exciting projects have taken shape. First, with funding from Analytics at Wharton, we demonstrate how an innovative Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) program can serve as a model on how to create livable neighborhoods through greening vacant lots in underserved areas. Second, on a national scale, we are developing an index of regulatory restrictiveness to identify areas for the advancement of affordable housing. Third, we are investigating who bears the cost of increasing climate risk. This work on climate and cities is ongoing. Finally, we have initiated a multi-year project on the challenge of affordable housing, convening and reporting on this challenge and local solutions.

In the international arena, Penn IUR’s continued exploration of sustainable urban transformation in cities across the globe featured the launch of two interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral projects. First, in collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), we produced State of Finance for Nature in Cities: Summary for Local Policymakers and an associated white paper, Assessing Nature-based Solution (NbS) Investments for Urban Resilience. These publications are the first stage of a multi-year effort to outline gaps and opportunities for NbS financing in cities, best practices from around the world, and actions that local governments, financial stakeholders, and private sector and knowledge partners can take to scale up these investments. Second, Penn IUR was honored to partner with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) President Jeffrey Sachs to create the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, harnessing the insights of finance experts, mayors, practitioners, and scholars to develop an evidence-based portfolio of recommendations for increasing finance for the urban aspects of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on climate.

We are particularly proud of our translational research efforts, including our Special Briefings with the Volcker Alliance on critical issues of state and local financial sustainability and The City in the 21st Century Series with Penn Press. This year, the Special Briefings and a new associated podcast have reached an audience of more than 10,000 state and local leaders and academics. We also celebrated The City in the 21st Century series achieving the milestone of the publication of 50 books.

Penn IUR remains committed to expanding our understanding of how cities shape global sustainability efforts through participation in key international convenings. As part of a robust Penn contingent, Penn IUR participated in the Council of Parties 27 (COP27) in Egypt and joined the United States’ official delegation to the once-every-five-years UN-Habitat Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya where 3,000 delegates from more than 128 countries set UN policy for creating more livable and resilient cities.

Finally, Penn IUR’s leadership programs are thriving. The Lawrence C. Nussdorf Prize for Urban Leadership recognized four important global actors, the undergraduate Urban Fellows program’s 17-member cohort engaged with local leaders at Penn, Washington, D.C., and New York City, and three remarkable students received the Lawrence C. Nussdorf Student Award.
While we have much to celebrate this year, we were also saddened by the loss of Richard Ravitch, who was the inspiration for our Special Briefings series. We end this year’s annual report with a tribute to this exemplary urban leader and our friend.

As we continue to pursue our mission, we are mindful that we could not carry out our efforts without the support of our dedicated Advisory Board, our extraordinary academic and research fellows, and all of our partners. We thank you and look forward to continuing our work together in the year ahead and beyond!

We invite you to explore selected contents of the report below or download the full report here.