Theoretical framework

Before arriving to Mexico City, I focused on understanding how to ground my research. As a Kosovar international student at the University of Florida, going to a third country to do research came with a burden: why here and why me. In rationalizing my decisions, I recognized how distant from the culture I was, knowing that I will be doing research that pertains to the local population and the built environment. One of my reasons to go to Mexico City beyond it being a hub in the Americas, was that the sociological manner in which the city operates is more similar to Kosovo than the United States. There was a layer of informality in the way things operate that I recognized and understood. Having conversations with multiple friends in Mexico City that are researchers helped me see my role in the city. As a foreigner coming in the city, I had to be aware of my role. The research would not imply that I know how the processes exactly go, rather it was training ground to grasp the culture around contagion and a first try at researching viruses in the city.

Revising topic - Remote research is an interesting experience. Mexico City is the sixth largest city in the world, with a population of 21.8 million inhabitants. It also means that the social interactions happen at an incomprehensible rate. Exchanges happen in the city daily: people walking, commuting via public transport, working, and partying. One of my coworkers told me that "Ciudad de Mexico tiene algo para todes" (Mexico City has something for everyone). In this array of opportunities, I started this journey with a challenge. The initial research plan began with focusing on COVID-19 and its social impact. When I arrived, I met with Dr. Ivan Franch who came to visit me from Morelia. We had a long conversation about the possibilities of the research. The challenge came when the possibility of revising the topic changed, from COVID-19 to HIV/AIDS. The structure of the paper would remain similar, though the public health issue would change. In trying to compare the two, I decided to focus on HIV/AIDS in Mexico City. Being that the topic is very much taboo in many areas, though the access to data is wider since the first case of the disease was in 1983. So in this change of pace, I concluded my first week of academic  revision, which came to show how being in the place where you do research can shift your priorities as a researcher.

Literature review - One cannot produce research without visiting what has been done on the topic beforehand. The process of literature review, though a slow one, is a thoroughly interesting undertaking. Looking at what previous academics have written on the topic of HIV/AIDS and the built environment is mesmerizing. Paper typologies range from more theoretical ones related to the city, to more scientific ones related to public health—but always in between the two and never in a singular-discipline vacuum. Since the particular public health crisis has been around for more than half a century now, it is interesting to see older research that undertakes very similar issues, just simply with older technology. 

What I am understanding about the world of research in HIV, is that the scale of it really makes a difference in the possible outputs of the study. There are a lot of papers that focus on the worldwide effect of the virus, which often relate to larger goals of world-renown organizations to put the disease under control. These offer an interesting view of the public health crisis, putting different regions in different categories, with Sub-Saharan Africa leading in the number of cases, but Europe and the US leading with the rate of increase of cases. What is most interesting for my research is the smaller-scale endeavors—ones that tackle states or cities. These extremely specific, geolocated data points for mapping the city create possibilities for local organizations to manage disease control and prevent future outbreaks. 

The literature review and the discussions that I had with my mentors, specifically in advising that I focus my research in more specific matters, culminated into a topic that though broad in theory allows for a clear focus. Some of the most impactful readings were "AIDS as a Metaphor" by Susan Suntag and Antonio Gramsci's writings on Subaltern Theory. Neither of these two pertains to urbanism or architectural theory directly. Rather, they focus on the people that relate to specific conditions. My research encompasses Mexico City, focusing on a narrower group: particularly, HIV-positive people seeking treatment, and their socio-economic background. The disadvantaged population in its intersectionality with disease is what interested me in a city with large economic disparities. The ability for them to seek help and the physical accessibility to this help can determine whether a city is equitable, and how it can improve in the future.