"Postdoctoral Associate in Just and Equitable Cities"

The Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities (the Center) at The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University (Cornell AAP) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Associate as part of the Center’s High Impact Initiative on Just and Equitable Cities.

We invite applications from candidates who will have completed their Ph.D. degree no earlier than September 1, 2020, in City Planning, Urban Studies, Urban Design, Architecture, Public Policy, Geography, or a related field. The expected start date for this full-time, 12-month position is July 1, 2026. As per university academic policy, the initial appointment will be for one year and may be renewed for a second year, contingent on valid work authorization, available funds, and satisfactory performance. This position is located on site in Ithaca, NY and is a non-tenure track position.

The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University (Cornell AAP) includes the departments of Architecture, Art, City and Regional Planning, the Paul Rubacha Department of Real Estate, jointly led by AAP and the SC Johnson College of Business, the multicollege Department of Design Tech, and the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities. The college spans three locations in Ithaca, New York City, and Rome, Italy, each with world-class facilities and cutting-edge technologies.

Cornell AAP is about acts of transformation. We are committed to reimagining and reshaping the world in new ways, every day. A vital college at one of the nation's foremost research universities, Cornell AAP brings faculty, staff, and students together from around the world to take up some of today's most urgent challenges and advance research, inquiry, and collaborative approaches to designing, making, and doing that make a more just and resilient future.

The Postdoctoral Associate will have the opportunity to align with the most relevant academic department in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and teach one course per year subject to department needs. The Postdoctoral Associate will be a member of the host department and will be invited to participate in department activities and events.

The ideal candidate would have research, teaching, and practice interests related to informal settlements in sub-Saharan African cities. Topics of interest are informal settlement upgrading, housing, land tenure, and access to infrastructure and services. The scholar might approach topics from the perspective of city planning, urban governance, community and civil society engagement, urban design, architecture to develop place-based, scalable approaches to housing security and/or universal access to safe, reliable, and affordable core urban infrastructure and services. The scholar would be interested in research and practice that contributes to more just, equitable, and livable cities.

The ideal candidate would have strong experience in some of the following areas: quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, geospatial data analysis, urban design, data visualization, and community engagement skills. The Postdoctoral Associate will work closely with the Center Director and staff, AAP faculty associated with the initiative, and the Center’s strategic partners.

We seek applicants with a strong research capacity, the ability to assist with project management and administration tasks, and the ability to teach a course in the department of city and regional planning or architecture. The Postdoctoral Associate is expected to spend approximately 50% their time working on their own research and teaching and 50% of their time supporting the Center’s Just and Equitable Cities initiative, research, and projects.

The Postdoctoral Associate is required to work in person on the Ithaca campus and should be available to travel nationally and internationally up to 30% of the time. The starting salary for this position is $65,000 per year, with a generous benefit package, and up to $3,000 per year in research allowance.

Eligibility: Applicants must have received their Ph.D. degree no earlier than September 1, 2020. Applicants who will complete all requirements for the Ph.D. degree (including filing the dissertation) before appointment are eligible to apply (in all cases before July 1, 2026). The completion date for the Ph.D. degree cannot in any circumstance be waived or extended.

Required application materials: (to be submitted electronically via Academic Jobs Online)

(1) a letter of application, including discussion of how your research relates to the advertised position; (2) a full curriculum vitae; (3) a writing sample (of less than 30 pages); (4) brief descriptions (200 word maximum for each) of 3 courses you are prepared to teach; and (5) the names and contact information of three references.

Applications will be reviewed beginning March 1, 2026. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for virtual interviews, and final candidates will be invited to campus to give a talk and in-person interviews. Questions about the position or the application process should be addressed to the Director of the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities at centerforcities@cornell.edu.

For more information about the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities or Cornell AAP, please visit: https://centerforcities.aap.cornell.edu/ https://aap.cornell.edu/