It was such a pleasure to hear from change-makers in climate mitigation and resilience, Lindsey Butler, Stephen Decina, and Conor Gately, each working in different sectors to address urban environmental challenges. They provided practical insights into the evolving nature of the work.

The Trump administration wants to rescind a 2009 finding that climate change endangers public health. Physicians and epidemiologists argue the move ignores mounting evidence linking climate change to heat deaths, epidemics, air pollution and mental health crises.

Half-Day Virtual Event Wildfires & Health: From Research to Resilience Explore the latest on wildfire impacts, research, and community resilience. Join us for expert panels, lightning talks, and networking focused on public health. 📅 Nov 19 | 🕐 1:00–5:00 PM ET 🔗 loom.ly/vNHHm_o

URBAN Trainee Alejandra Castillo Cieza leveraged an URBAN Travel Award to present her research at the ESA conference this summer. Her research on the effects of urbanization and wildfire on forest health is both timely and relevant.

@comatbu.bsky.social launched the Center for Media Innovation & Social Impact (MISI) in spring 2025, aiming to restore trust in science, democracy, and community. “This center aims to help society realize its potential through effective communication,” states COM Dean Mariette DiChristina (COM’86).

📣 Interested in #climate and #sustainability #research that makes a real impact at @bostonu.bsky.social & beyond? BU's Campus Climate Lab offers up to $10,000 for student-mentor teams to use our campuses as a living lab for sustainability research! Apply now: www.bu.edu/igs/research...

BARI Conference 2025 included a panel focused on indoor air quality studies in Greater Boston, so we know it's important! Congrats to our friends at @boston.gov and @patriciafabian.bsky.social for this important work to monitor air quality in every BPS classroom! www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/26/s...

Great turnout yesterday of engaged students interested in supporting research-based policy. Thanks to all who participated! @ucs.org

Another impressive alum sharing their research on our urban environment! Check out @k8eatherton.bsky.social's paper in Nature Cities (www.nature.com/articles/s44...), "Behind the Paper" blog post (communities.springernature.com/posts/the-dy...) , or coverage at WBUR (www.wbur.org/news/2025/10...).

A new study in Nature Cities delves into what life is like for a Bostonian oak, and how we can help our green neighbors thrive despite the city’s stressors. 🌳https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/10/03/boston-tree-microbes-study

You can also take a look at my "Behind the Paper" blog for Nature to learn more about how we went from soil to this microbial story! go.nature.com/4nJcP0j

🌳 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...

🗓️ SAVE THE DATE! Join us Friday 11/7 as we host our first MISI summit on "Communicating Climate." Leading voices will explore why what we listen to or read about around #climatechange leads to misinformation and disinformation or trust. Register now > bit.ly/MISISummit2025 @comatbu.bsky.social

This summer, URBAN Trainee Flannery Black-Ingersoll outlined ways to streamline the process of integrating new climate technologies in the city. Learn more about Flannery's internship project with the Office of Emerging Technology by visiting our Internship Impacts page sites.bu.edu/urban/black-...

URBAN Trainee Zhenpeng Zuo used his GIS skills to develop a mapping protocol that can aid municipalities as they transition to cleaner energy. Check out the Internship Impacts page of our website (sites.bu.edu/urban/intern...) to see the impactful projects trainees undertook this spring and summer!

Mayors have arrived at Climate Week NYC to showcase how cities are stepping up on climate. From cutting fossil fuels and scaling up clean energy to creating good green jobs and protecting communities, local leaders are proving what’s possible when action meets ambition.

Congratulations, Dr. Fleming Ianniello!

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦🧑‍🎓 The CELT Initiative puts #communities and students at the center of Massachusetts’ #CleanEnergy future. In a new article, current @bostonu.bsky.social CELT fellows share what they've learned. Read more — and apply to join the second fellow class: www.bu.edu/igs/2025/09/...

Congratulations to Dr. Atherton!

Young adults in Boston! We want to hear your ideas, experiences and priorities. Join our first Climate Action Plan session on Monday, 9/15 at Dorchester Brewing! This session is intended for ages 21 - 35. Food will be provided. Register: buff.ly/T0Sl2kR

Excited to welcome our newest cohort of URBAN trainees! Thank you to Luofan Dong, Shalom Entner, and Niouma Semega for sharing their internship experiences with the incoming trainees at our Intro Workshop yesterday.

Stories have the power to inform, connect, and inspire. CAFE’s Public Narrative Workshop will teach climate and health researchers techniques to expand the reach and impact of their work. Applications due September 12. https://loom.ly/YmZNw4E

URBAN Trainee Ally Swank took full advantage of the URBAN non-service stipend this spring, traveling to Panama to further their research on coral species, specifically cryptic lineages within a coral species complex. Awesome to see URBAN trainees doing great things!

Congratulations, Dr. Arden Radford!

When it comes to cooling off #UrbanHeat, is planting #trees or installing cool roofs more effective? It all depends on the neighborhood and the city, explain Lucy Hutyra & Ian Smith of buearth.bsky.social‬theconversation.com/2-ways-citie...8#ClimateResiliencece

The City of Boston is working with Boston University's School of Public Health on temperature sensing projects to understand and address extreme heat exposure across Boston's neighborhoods. @boston.gov @bostonu.bsky.social

Less snowfall from climate change is impacting tree growth—and it might have a big impact on how much carbon New England forests can store. In a decade-long study, BU biologists found less snowpack slowed tree growth by about half.

URBAN Trainee Dalilah Campus put her URBAN Travel Award to good use, connecting with researchers from all over the world to discuss innovation, technology, and environmental justice in the field of water management at the Citizen Science for Water Conference in Delft, the Netherlands, in early June.

Take a break and connect! Grab-and-go bagels with URBAN Program Manager Emily Walton - Wednesday at SPH, Thursday on the CRC. 9:30-11:00am, or until we run out of bagels.

Thank you to BU School of Law professor Sean Kealy for an insightful tour of the State House today. He made getting involved in the state legislative process very approachable!

Congratulations, Dr. Valadez Ingersoll!

URBAN Trainees - we hope you can join us next Monday for a trip to the Massachusetts State House. RSVP at bit.ly/URBANstatehouse

Occupational Heat & Cooling Strategies: A Pilot Study PI: @mscammell.bsky.social, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, @busph.bsky.social Co-PIs: @patriciafabian.bsky.social, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, SPH; @jonylee.bsky.social, Ph.D. Student, Environmental Health

Heat, Health, and Hurricanes: Urban Resilience versus the Long Mortality Shadow of Cooling Disruptions PI: Ian Sue Wing, Professor, @buearth.bsky.social Co-PIs: Jiahang He, Ph.D. Student, Earth and Environment; ‪‪@suzannasumkhuu.bsky.social‬‬, Ph.D. Student, Earth and Environment

Congratulations to Lydia Jefferson for graduating from BU with a Masters in Earth & Environment!

Do #CarbonCredits, which claim to offset #emissions, really make a difference - or are they just a way for corporations to look better? In a new paper, a team of @bostonu.bsky.social describe improvements and recommendations for the carbon market system: http://spr.ly/63327NcBAl

Amazing to learn about the impactful work of URBAN Trainees and Alumni yesterday at our Annual Symposium. Thanks to all who participated, thanks to everyone who attended, and a big thank you to the committed team of trainees who planned and led the event!

Climate change and municipal finance: Ordinary innovations for just urban transitions by Claudia V Diezmartínez and Anne G Short Gianotti buff.ly/PyOkMXn #ClimateFinance #ClimateJustice

We hope to see you on May 14th for our Annual Symposium! This year's symposium is organized by our students to highlight the research and experiences of URBAN trainees and alumni. All are welcome to attend! RSVP here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Thanks to all our community members (pictured and not pictured!) who came out for Pastries with Pam this morning. Let's all enjoy this beautiful weather!

We hope to see you tomorrow on the lawn in front of 640 Commonwealth Ave for some pastries, coffee, and conversation!

We are celebrating #EarthDay by launching a new initiative called Environmental Health Works (#EHWorks), where universities across the US are coming together to share videos about how the environment affects our health (and how research contributes to that knowledge). Take a look at bit.ly/EHworks

The health of humans and our planet are inextricably linked. The kidneys represent that link -- they are how our bodies process exposures in our environment. This #EarthDay, I explain why studying causes of chronic kidney disease is protecting that link www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZOr...

Congratulations, Dr. Liu!

Congratulations, Dr. Mueller!

Join us on Wednesday for a discussion addressing concerns about the future of our climate, health, and the environment. We won't have the answers, but we're hoping to connect people in conversation and develop some action steps. RSVP here: forms.gle/g7uVdudebVY3...

Congratulations, Dr. Adams!

Congrats to URBAN Trainee Emerson Conrad-Rooney for winning first place in the AAAS Environment and Ecology E-Poster Competition! Emerson's work looks at the impacts of a warming climate on temperate forest ecosystems. @hubbardbrook.bsky.social

Community is important! URBAN Social is tomorrow at 10am, please join for a casual opportunity to chat with each other and eat pastries. We'd love to see you there! (Coffee and treats from Flour...)

Thanks to Stacy Fox @buoncities.bsky.social and City Councilor Sharon Durkan @councilordurkan.bsky.social for providing insights into the Mayor's State of the City speech for our URBAN community. Thanks also to our URBAN trainees for your thoughtful engagement.