Blog

What happens when one class reshapes your entire perspective on cities? For Nellie Conklin ’26, it meant finding her academic passion and setting her on the path to becoming this year’s Presidential Scholar in Urban Studies. Her work since then has spanned from neighborhood walks in Hartford to on-site field study in Rome, and from classroom projects to collaborations with local housing organizations. Nellie brings curiosity and focus to every part of her work, and she plans to bring that approach with her as she returns to Boston after graduation to pursue a career in affordable housing.

This November, Trinity students had the chance to hear directly from two foreign ambassadors visiting Hartford. Through a partnership between the Center for Urban and Global Studies (CUGS) and the World Affairs Council (WAC) of Connecticut, students attended two events in the 2025 Global Security Forum Series.

Supported by CUGS (Grossman & Kelter Funds), Via Guterres ’26 investigates how Chinese “one-dollar shops” are reshaping Dili’s economy, culture, and skyline. Interviews with customers, local vendors, and shop owners reveal a city prioritizing affordability and access while struggling with identity and regulations. What does convenience mean for Dili’s future?

by Xiangming Chen Director, Urban Studies and Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of Global Urban Studies and Sociology Student Research/Scholarship at and After Trinity Student research in Urban Studies has been steady since ...

In Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, Alex Goiris '26 led an interdisciplinary project sponsored by the Center for Caribbean Studies. He combined visual analysis and interviews to uncover how fragmented sidewalks shape daily life. By linking design and psychology, the research highlights how uneven pavements affect accessibility, emotions, and sense of belonging, and how small urban details can reveal much larger stories about inclusion and public space.

Supported by the Center for Urban and Global Studies Summer Research Grant, Vy Duong ’26 investigated how labor export shapes social structures in her home country, Vietnam. Her project, Beyond Remittances, examines the cultural and generational shifts occurring as more young people leave home for work in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Through grant-funded research supported by the Center for Urban and Global Studies, Yulia Puhareva'26 spent the summer in Serbia. She was working with the University of Belgrade students on redesigning Autokomanda highway interchange for a better neighborhood connectivity. Blending engineering and urban studies, they used GIS and AR tools to propose people-centered redesigns, showing how even the most car-dominated infrastructure can turn into safe, human-inclusive spaces.

Cultural exchange and connection are at the heart of the experience of Technos International Week (TIW). Each year in Tokyo, Japan, students from Technos College host students from eleven sister schools for two weeks of programming. Dozens of Trinity students and faculty over the years have had the chance to travel to Tokyo for TIW with all essential expenses paid thanks to the support of Technos College and the Tanaka Memorial Foundation. For the June 8-21, 2025 trip, Trinity students Naisola Sarfo-Mensah and Simal Rashid were accompanied by Professor Kifah Hanna. In a special confluence, Ugnė Tumonytė '24 was one of the organizers of TIW. After participating in TIW in 2023, Ugnė applied for a teaching assistant position at Technos College, was selected for the position, and has spent the past year working in Tokyo.

Benedicte Baile and Alexander Cacciato received Projects for Peace grants for projects taking place in summer 2025. “These challenges are deeply personal to me, and I cannot stand by as my community suffers,” Benedicte wrote in her proposal. Benedicte and Alexander conceived of these projects separately, but the connection between the projects extends further than the fact that they both take place in West Africa. Both students began their journey at Trinity in Professor Garth Myers’ CTYP 101: Introduction to Urban Studies class, a first-year seminar coordinated through the Center for Urban and Global Studies (CUGS).

On April 10, 2025, Rio Smith presented his project “Understanding Urban Margins: How Statistics and Urban Policy Police Tokyo’s Homeless Geographies” as a 2025 Marcuss Fellow. Smith’s project examined how Tokyo’s state statistics represent the homeless population and their motivation in choosing how to represent these populations.