Johns Hopkins University’s 21st Century Cities Initiative, a hub for urban research, recently awarded 15 seed grants to faculty and doctoral researchers pursuing projects in Baltimore and beyond.
Seven JHU faculty-led studies—including projects pertaining to female entrepreneurship, the effect of urban green spaces on environmental quality, and the impact of the federal Opportunity Zones program in West Baltimore—won funding through 21CC’s Applied Research Seed Grants.
The initiative also distributed eight awards to Hopkins PhD candidates pursuing research on urban issues, including New York City rent laws, college choice for disadvantaged youth, and the impact of homelessness on the health of pregnant women.
Altogether, the grants totaled more than $124,000. Eight of the research projects are based in Baltimore City; other locations include Miami; Atlanta; and New Haven, Connecticut, plus two international projects focused on urban areas in Uganda and China.
The annual grants are a cornerstone for 21CC, an interdisciplinary platform for research and education on topics that affect cities, including economic opportunity and quality of life.
“We think it’s important to support the development of new research at Johns Hopkins on urban issues,” 21CC interim faculty director Andrew Cherlin says. “The small grants we give out can make a big difference in getting projects by faculty and graduate students off the ground.”
Applied Research Seed Grantees from the Whiting School of Engineering
- The Environmental Hopkins Observation Network (e-HON): Based in Baltimore, the project will deploy sensors to assess how different types of urban green spaces influence environmental quality. The JHU research team consists of Katalin Szlavecz, Ben Zaitchik, and Tamas Budavari.
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