JHU’s 21st Century Cities is providing funding for urban research projects

Johns Hopkins’ 21st Century Cities (21CC) program is providing seed grants for urban research projects conducted by faculty and doctoral researchers, and many are focused on Baltimore.

According to the JHU Hub, the funding provided by the 21CC Applied Research Seed Grants program totals $124,000. Eight of the 15 projects are centered on Baltimore, while others will study issues in cities like New Haven, Atlanta, Miami and Kampala, Uganda.

21CC is designed as an interdisciplinary initiative that focuses around research and education topics in cities in areas such as economic opportunity, health, education, safety and housing. It awards the seed grants annually.

“We think it’s important to support the development of new research at Johns Hopkins on urban issues,” 21CC Interim Faculty Director Andrew Cherlin said to the Hub. “The small grants we give out can make a big difference in getting projects by faculty and graduate students off the ground.”

As a sample of the work funded, here are several faculty projects centered on tech and entrepreneurship that are among the Baltimore-focused research, per the Hub:

• The Environmental Hopkins Observation Network (e-HON) — A team including Katalin Szlavecz, Ben Zaitchik, and Tamas Budavari will deploy sensors to assess how green spaces influence environmental quality.
• Solutions for Female Entrepreneurs — A data based project looking at successes and needs of female entrepreneurs in Baltimore’s creative industries, led by Antigoni Papadimitriou and Constantine Frangakis.
• Opportunity Zones in West Baltimore — A team will look at the impacts of Opportunity Zones, the federal tax program for development in specifically designated areas, including attraction of new capital and businesses. JHU researcher Sandra Newman is working with colleagues at Columbia University, as well as Baltimore City Councilmembers Leon Pinkett, Kristefer Burnett and John Bullock.
• Genetics for the Greater Good — Panagis Galiatsatos and Joann Bodurtha are working with community and government partners to educate community health workers on encouraging families to collect and share family health history and making informed decisions.

See the full list here.