About 21CC – 21st Century Cities Initiative

21st Century Cities Initiative

The 21st Century Cities Initiative (21CC) at Johns Hopkins University is the campus hub for research, teaching, and outreach related to urban economic growth and urban quality of life. Through rigorous data analysis and policy evaluation, our center focuses on how to align the incentives of the private sector and federal, state, and local governments to unlock the full potential of cities including Baltimore, U.S, and international cities.

City residents and firms gain from the benefits of density. When we live at close physical proximity, we learn more from each other, we can more easily trade and interact with each other, and we can specialize in activity where we have a comparative advantage because we know that we can trade with others who have an edge in supplying services that we demand but that we do not have the time to produce for ourselves. While cities offer great opportunities, they also impose costs. Cities suffer from various degrees of pollution, traffic congestion, and crime. These social costs can significantly lower urban quality of life.

21CC seeks to identify cost effective strategies for accentuating the gains from urban density while mitigating the social costs of living and working in close physical proximity.

Partnering to Improve Cities

21CC is a critical part of Johns Hopkins University’s larger efforts to support and strengthen Baltimore and other cities with similar challenges. As Baltimore’s largest anchor institution, Johns Hopkins takes seriously its obligations as an employer, real estate holder and economic engine. The university oversees a number of community building initiatives, such as inclusive neighborhood revitalization strategies surrounding its campuses, local hiring and purchasing programs, and live where you work subsidies for employees.

We work closely with more than 200 Johns Hopkins faculty members across disciplines who are interested in issues related to cities 21CC coordinates with the various research efforts across the university in developing and implementing its research, convening and policy activities.

21CC Staff

Michael Bader – Faculty Director

Mac McComas – Senior Program Manager

Matthew E. Kahn – Senior Fellow

Amine Ouazad – Senior Fellow

Odis Johnson – Senior Fellow

Bruce Hamilton – Senior Fellow

Nils Kok – Senior Fellow

Denise DiPasquale – Senior Fellow

Stuart Schrader – Senior Fellow

Mary Miller – Senior Fellow

Steering Committee

Beth Blauer – Executive Director, Centers for Civic Impact – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences

Robert Blum – William H. Gates Sr. Professor, Chair, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Director, Urban Health Institute – Bloomberg School of Public Health

Tamas Budavari – Associate Professor, Applied Math and Statistics – Whiting School of Engineering

Filipe Campante – Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor, International Economics and Economics – School of Advanced International Studies and Krieger School of Arts & Sciences

Andrew Cherlin – Benjamin H. Griswold III Professor, Department Chair, Department of Sociology, Director, Hopkins Population Center – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences

Stefanie DeLuca – James Coleman Professor of Sociology & Social Policy, Co-Director, Poverty and Inequality Research Lab – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences

Deborah Gross – Professor, Leonard and Helen Stulman Endowed Chair – School of Nursing

Lingxin Hao – Professor, Sociology – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences

Jeanne Hitchcock – Special Advisor to the Vice President – Government and Community Affairs

Yujung Hwang – Assistant Professor, Economics – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences

Odis Johnson, Jr. – Bloomberg Distinguished Professor; Executive Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Safe and Healthy Schools – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, School of Education

Philip Leaf – Professor of Mental Health, Director of the Center for Adolescent Health – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, School of Education, School of Nursing

Robert Lieberman – Krieger-Eisenhower Professor, Political Science – Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

Robert Moffitt – Krieger-Eisenhower Professor, Department Chair, Economics – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences

Nicholas Papageorge – Broadus Mitchell Assistant Professor, Economics – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences

Phillip Phan – Alonzo and Virginia Decker Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship – Carey Business School

Craig Pollack – Associate Professor, Health Policy and Management – Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine

Luis Quintero – Assistant Professor of Urban Real Estate and Economics – Carey Business School

Alessandro Rebucci – Associate Professor, Economics – Carey Business School

Darlene Saporu – Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences and Whiting School of Engineering

Emilia Simeonova – Assistant Professor, Economics – Carey Business School

Lester Spence – Associate Professor, Political Science – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences

Lindsay Thompson – Associate Professor, Director, CityLab – Carey Business School