DRCLAS' Mexico Studies Program Co-Chair Diane E. Davis Named CIFAR Fellow for Global Urban Initiative

Diane E. Davis, a leading figure in urban planning and governance and co-chair of the Mexico Studies Program at Harvard’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS), has been named a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) for the 2023-2028 term. This prestigious position comes in tandem with Davis’s appointment as the co-director of CIFAR’s "Humanity’s Urban Future" research initiative (HUF), a groundbreaking program dedicated to exploring the complexities of urban life in the 21st century.

The CIFAR Fellowship supports Davis role in co-administering HUF’s $12 million research program over the next five years. The initiative will tackle some of the most pressing challenges cities face today, particularly how urban residents and authorities will adapt to rapid changes driven by globalization, technological advancements, and climate change.

In the program Davis will count on an interdisciplinary team of researchers from around the world as they analyze urban futures in Mexico City, Kolkata, Shanghai, Kinshasa, Naples, and Toronto. One collective goal is to develop innovative solutions that address challenges like water governance, sustainable development, and social equity in these rapidly evolving urban landscapes.

This appointment underscores Davis’s dedication to reimagining urban spaces. Her pioneering work has consistently pushed the boundaries of urban governance, and this new role will allow her to expand her influence on a global scale.

In conjunction with her CIFAR Fellowship, Davis will also lead a series of research projects focused on Mexico City. Over the next three years, these projects will explore critical issues such as water governance and the diverse methodologies residents and authorities use toimagine the city’s future. These initiatives will involve collaboration with scholars at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and participation from students and faculty across various Harvard schools, including the Graduate School of Design, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Kennedy School of Government, and Harvard Law School.