Graduate Research Fellow (C. Sckerl

Position Description

Research exploring urbanization processes in Latin America tends to focus on the rapid urbanization of the region's megacities, overlooking the developmental patterns of mid-sized urban centers. This research project aims to document, analyze, and compare the urban morphology of selected intermediate UNESCO cities in México, including Oaxaca de Juárez, Santiago de Querétaro, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Puebla, Morelia, Mérida, Campeche, and Zacatecas.

The project combines historical research methods, visual interpretation, and spatial analysis to trace the distinctive morphological evolution of these mid-sized Mexican cities. The project aims to contribute to recent scholarly efforts that de-center the megacity as a site of analysis.

Catherine Sckerl

Catherine Sckerl

csckerl

Graduate Research Fellow

n/a

1

Aug 14, 2026

Research exploring urbanization processes in Latin America tends to focus on the rapid urbanization of the region's megacities, overlooking the developmental patterns of mid-sized urban centers. This research project aims to document, analyze, and compare the urban morphology of selected intermediate UNESCO cities in México, including Oaxaca de Juárez, Santiago de Querétaro, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Puebla, Morelia, Mérida, Campeche, and Zacatecas.

The project combines historical research methods, visual interpretation, and spatial analysis to trace the distinctive morphological evolution of these mid-sized Mexican cities. The project aims to contribute to recent scholarly efforts that de-center the megacity as a site of analysis.

Prof. Sckerl will instruct the graduate research fellow on the data collection workflow as well as GIS-based workflows. The GRF will be tasked with systematically searching for and downloading high-resolution, digital, historical city maps and contemporary satellite images and filing them under a standard title within the research folder. The GRF will be tasked with downloading and assembling shape files an population data from INEGI to build base GIS models for each city.

Next, the GRF will work alongside with Prof. Sckerl to georeference the historical city maps into the appropriate base model and interpret the historical edges of the city to generate shapefile layers; using population data commensurate with the historic maps, the GRF will run basic calculations for population density and urbanization rates. The GRF will work with Prof. Sckerl to develop a legible graphic language for representing urban morphology, and then will work to implement these standards consistently across GIS base files.

Weekly coordination meeting + flexible hours up to 12 per week

In-person/On-campus (Uptown)

Graduate Student

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Work Sample/Portfolio
• Class Schedule

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