Latin Lab Research Themes
Migration and Ethno-Urbanism
The production of urban space, power, knowledge, and subjectivities in Latin America is closely intertwined with processes elsewhere. Movements of people, capital, labor, tourism, information, media, and urban design and planning ideas transcend these nations’ borders and their peoples’ collective imaginations. The Latin Lab seeks to understand the different subfields of transnational planning and their agents, understand their cultural and spatial implications, and assess their individual, collective, institutional, and socio-spatial effectiveness.
Urban Resilience and Upgrading
Climate change, natural catastrophes, and uncontrolled development dramatically affect the social and built fabric of rural and urban settlements. Through sustainable practices, architecture and planning can contribute to promote healthy community development and reduce inequality and poverty. By analyzing alternatives such as self-built communities, urban acupuncture, and progressive housing, among others, the Latin Lab explores ways in which economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, and social equity can be mutually constituted in promoting communities’ resilience and upgrade.