# Rachel Franklin Executive Director, Center for Geographic Analysis ![Photo of Rachel Franklin](/sites/g/files/omnuum11426/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/2025-07/Rachel_pic_1.jpg?h=2b2eface&itok=Kt461oB4) location\_on Knafel Building, K325 email [rachel\_franklin@cga.harvard.edu](mailto:rachel_franklin@cga.harvard.edu) laptop\_windows [Personal website](https://www.rachelfranklin.org) - [ Linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelsfranklin/) Rachel is the Executive Director of the [Center for Geographic Analysis](https://gis.harvard.edu/)(CGA) at Harvard University. Until recently, she was Professor of Geographical Analysis in the [Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS)](https://www.ncl.ac.uk/curds/)and the [School of Geography, Politics and Sociology](https://www.ncl.ac.uk/gps/geography/) at Newcastle University, where she continues to hold a visiting appointment. In the UK she was also the Group Leader for Liveability in the [Science of Cities and Regions Programme](https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-programmes/urban-analytics) at the [Alan Turing Institute](https://www.turing.ac.uk/), where she is also a former Fellow. Rachel's primary research focus is in spatial demography and the interplay between spatial analytics and demographic change, in particular quantifying patterns, sources and impacts of spatial inequality. Recent projects, for example, study [“Left Behind” places](https://research.ncl.ac.uk/beyondleftbehindplaces/aboutourproject/), the ways in which [smart city infrastructures can reinforce existing inequalities](https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-projects/spatial-inequality-and-smart-city), and the role of spatial scale and context in understanding the manifestation and impacts of depopulation across neighborhoods, cities, and regions. She has a growing interest in data infrastructure for spatial and social science research—especially [satellite imagery for social science and health research and policymaking](https://imago.ac.uk/). She also maintains an ongoing interest in pedagogy, especially the teaching of methods. She has taught spatial analysis, GIS, and quantitative methods for over 20 years, with a pedagogic orientation towards policy applications and the social sciences and humanities. Rachel is co-editor of a recent Elgar [Handbook of Spatial Analysis in the Social Sciences](https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/handbook-of-spatial-analysis-in-the-social-sciences-9781789903935.html), with Serge Rey, and co-author of a [textbook](https://www.routledge.com/GIS-and-the-Social-Sciences-Theory-and-Applications/Ballas-Clarke-Franklin-Newing/p/book/9781138785120) aimed at teaching GIS for the social sciences. Rachel is the current cross-disciplinary editor for the [*Annals of the American Association of Geographers (AAG)*](https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/raag21) and out-going editor of [*Geographical Analysis*](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15384632). For eight years (2010–2018) she was the Associate Director of the Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4) initiative at Brown University in the U.S. and also held an academic appointment in Population Studies. Other professional experience includes the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Association of Geographers (AAG). She does other stuff too. With [Daniel Arribas-Bel](https://darribas.org/) and [Levi Wolf](https://www.ljwolf.org/), Rachel co-hosts the [GLaD Podcast](https://gladpodcast.podbean.com/) – Geography, Life and Data – supported by the Science of Cities and Regions Programme at the Alan Turing Institute. The podcast is an outgrowth of their pandemic-era [Spatial Analytics + Data (SAD)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcf3cdwC1c-1w4Oq0J9yNIg?app=desktop&cbrd=1) seminar and interview series. She also have a [newsletter](https://rachelfranklin.substack.com/), which tends to be equal parts professional and personal. Rachel received her PhD in Geography from the University of Arizona (2004). Previous degrees are from Indiana University: BA in French and Political Science and MA in West European Studies. [Current CV (pdf)](/sites/g/files/omnuum11426/files/2025-07/CV_Franklin_CURRENT_0.pdf "Current CV")