A two-front revolution: Helping our cities and schools help each other

Abstract

MIT Science Policy Review spoke with Kate Burns about kicking off a two-front science policy revolution: how academics can make their research politically actionable and how local officials can center academic research to run their cities. Burns is the Executive Director of MetroLab, a nonprofit organization that nurtures transformational collaborations between cities and universities [1]. Burns had her start in mayoral administrations in Seattle, Washington and Kansas City, Missouri, thinking deeply about innovation and drafting new regulatory schemes for transportation and data privacy. We spoke with Burns about the gulf between the research that comes out of the modern university and what happens on the ground in American cities, and the concrete steps we can take to narrow it. Our conversation is expansive, optimistic, and highlights how research inside university walls can dramatically impact people’s quality of life on the outside.