Ella McCoshan

I am interested in exploring the dynamics of urban change, particularly in informal areas i.e. areas that lack basic services, infrastructure and/or land and housing rights. I hope to incorporate top-down and bottom-up viewpoints through harnessing satellite remote sensing techniques and working directly with local communities, situating spatial data science within multi-disciplinary perspectives. 

I have trained and worked as a Spatial Data Scientist and Urban Planner. I have an MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in Space Syntax from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. 

Since 2021, I have contributed to urban development projects across several continents, engaging with diverse topics including containing unsustainable urban sprawl, monitoring street network and land use change, and promoting walkable urban environments. These experiences have reinforced my awareness of the growing data and knowledge gaps surrounding processes of urban change, particularly in the Global South, and the urgency with which such processes need to be addressed.