Urban Planning in Querétaro, México

By Amanda Gormsen, MURP ’24

As a graduate student pursuing a dual degree in Master of Urban & Regional Planning (MURP) and Latin American Studies (LAS), I was keen on securing a summer internship in Latin America between my first and second years of study.

With the help of my former manager in Washington, D.C., who grew up in Mexico City, I was able to secure a summer internship in Santiago de Querétaro, México, where I spent July and August living, working, and studying Spanish. I worked as an Urban Planning Intern for the state-level Secretariat of Urban Development and Public Works (La Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Obras Públicas, “SDUOP”) within their Department of Planning and Urban Development. My office was located in a beautiful baroque-neoclassical cloister connected to the Cathedral of Querétaro (San Felipe Neri Oratory), situated in Querétaro’s historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

My primary responsibility was to support communications for SDUOP’s major infrastructure project, Paseo 5 de Febrero, as it began its initial re-engineering phase. The project aimed to prioritize vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists over private vehicles and cars, guided by a mobility pyramid that was inspired by the key commitments of the UN’s New Urban Agenda and Mexico’s General Law of Human Settlements, Territorial Planning and Urban Development Article 4. Moreover, the project aimed to address the frequent and severe flooding that 5 de Febrero currently suffers from, making stormwater management and sanitation integral to the project’s environmental perspective.

As an Environmental Analysis and Policy (EAP) concentration student, I enjoyed learning more about transportation planning during the internship. Besides work, I had memorable experiences camping in the Sierra Gorda mountains, attending a mushroom festival in Piñal de Amoles, and relishing delicious meals with my host family, Caroline and Ceci. I also had the pleasure of meeting up with two other UCLA grad students working respectively in Tepic and Cabo San Lucas, México, for the summer.

Overall, I am grateful to Global Public Affairs, Ciudades@Luskin, the Luskin School of Public Affairs, and the UCLA Latin American Institute for their administrative and financial support throughout the summer.