Latina/o Urbanism in Practice

Studying the Latina/o built environment means studying the impact of culture on public space, which should be part of an equitable development process. However, there are challenges inherent to bringing this lived knowledge... [ view full abstract ]

Studying the Latina/o built environment means studying the impact of culture on public space, which should be part of an equitable development process. However, there are challenges inherent to bringing this lived knowledge into urban planning and design.

Making do as immigrants or in historically marginalized barrios, urban Latinos in California have tended to demand very little from their built environments, relying on improvisation rather than state intervention. While some Latino families have thrived, many can only dream of being able to pick and choose homes based on considerations such as avoiding food deserts and proximity to parks and "good schools." Today, long-affordable urban neighborhoods are rapidly attracting a new wave of people who expect more from the built environment. People hoping to change the visual look and spatial character of built environments typically use tools such zoning, transportation infrastructure, economic development, and urban design. These tools can also remake the community because only those who can invest before property values rise will be able to stay in the neighborhood and benefit from these changes.

Complicating this simple narrative is the fact that Latina/os can also be gentrifiers, as expressed by the term "gentefication." With this tension between individual wealth and community fortunes, can cultural identity be a resource for resisting displacement? Is it possible to gain official recognition for subaltern Latina/o spatial practices without triggering gentrification and displacement? What lessons have been learned from displacement that has already occurred? Most importantly, how do we push back against the appropriation of community ideas while advocating for meaningful inclusion in development processes?

There have been academic discourses for some time recognizing the particular cultural interfaces through which Latina/os in the United States encounter their built environments, and what effects these have. Planners, scholars, and others are putting these insights into practice to open our urban development and planning processes to more community perspectives and needs. This round table will consist of figures who have been engaged with cultural inclusion in urban planning, policy, and design. The panelists will discuss their work on the gendered built environment, transit-oriented development, bike infrastructure projects, and other examples of Latina/o urbanism in practice.