We’re a hub for urban scholarship, bringing together researchers from many disciplines to develop bold new thinking about cities. Our work advances scholarship and shapes policy and practice.

Cities are a singular source of change in human societies. Time and again, they have channeled our collective knowledge and action and innovated in the face of existential challenges. With over half the global population now living in cities, urban areas will be at the forefront of addressing modern challenges of climate change, inequity, and pioneering sustainable development.

At the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, we believe that to do this, we need new ways of thinking and acting that embrace the complexity of urban societies, integrate diverse disciplines and methods, take advantage of the natural dynamism and transformative power of cities, and make use of the enormous amounts of data generated in our urban spaces.

This is why we study the fundamental processes that drive, shape and sustain cities. We bring together ideas from the natural, computational, and social sciences and the humanities to develop innovative scholarship that recognizes cities as complex, dynamic, adaptive, and integrated systems rather than static or fixed entities. We train the next generation of scholars in interdisciplinary, advanced methods, perspectives, and theory and state-of-the-art technology, data, and scientific tools that are required to understand cities and urbanization in the 21st century. We collaborate to co-produce knowledge and solutions with other researchers worldwide, as well as with international organizations, foundations, and civic non-profits. And we support innovative, cross-disciplinary urban initiatives across the University of Chicago campus.

The Mansueto Institute offers or co-sponsors a variety of programs for students who are interested in cities and sustainable urban development. We offer several fellowship opportunities: the Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Kreisman Initiative for Housing Law and Policy Fellowship, and the Urban Doctoral Fellows program. Additionally, research assistant positions are available in our Environmental Frontiers Campus program and Urban Research Corps. Check our Opportunities page, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, and follow us on social media to get notified of opportunities as they become available.​