A Message from the Provost and Vice Provost for Research

Wendell Pritchett

Provost; Presidential Professor of Law and Education Dawn Bonnell

Vice Provost for Research; Henry Robinson Towne Professor of Engineering and Applied Science

This past year marked a historic moment in our society, altering every facet of life. At Penn IUR, this has meant transitioning all activities to online platforms as well as steering research and programming to address the critical issues facing cities today.

As COVID-19 presented unparalleled challenges to the social fabric, economic activities, and provision of public goods in cities around the globe, Penn IUR launched its Cities and Contagion Initiative with a special issue of Urban Link, assembling voices from across the Institute’s networks and shedding light on the vast challenges ahead. Shortly thereafter, Penn IUR created the Cities and COVID-19 Resource Library, which is regularly updated with new material covering a wide range of topics from urban planning to real estate to health and education. More programming and resources are planned for the coming year.

The racial inequities laid bare in cities and towns across the United States in recent months have also greatly impacted the efforts of Penn IUR, with the Institute taking a deeper dive into previously established themes of shared prosperity, fair housing, and state and local fiscal sustainability. Through these frames, Penn IUR has been investigating systems that provide some of the greatest challenges and opportunities to achieving racial equity in the U.S.

While these phenomena have shifted and intensified Penn IUR’s research and programming direction, the Institute has continued to enrich Penn students’ experiences at every level of scholarship. The Penn IUR Fellows in Urban Leadership program and the Penn Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium are providing undergraduates with unique opportunities to connect with leaders working on the ground in Philadelphia and with scholarly mentors, respectively, to better understand the complexity of urban systems. Its ongoing programming for the Master of Urban Spatial Analytics brings in experts from the field to demonstrate the latest developments in software and analysis. Penn IUR continues to provide a vibrant home for the university’s urban-focused doctoral students through the Affiliated Doctoral Students program and by annually showcasing the dissertations of those who have graduated. And, its annual theme-year programming relates the Provost’s theme (Year of Data) to the city. The January 2020 Penn IUR symposium, “Building a Hyperconnected City,” linked data and technology to public policy and city building decision-making.

This past year, Penn IUR called on its network of Faculty Fellows and its internal and external leadership boards, the Executive Committee and the Advisory Board, to advise on a strategic plan for the next five years. This process reaffirmed the core functions and themes of Penn IUR while emphasizing the need to be responsive to the ever-changing world we inhabit. We look forward to the years ahead and to supporting the diverse community that is Penn IUR.