Young Latinas/os’ Environmental Commitments: The Case of Waste

Miriam Solis, Sergio Morales, Noah Cohen, Katherine Pérez-Quiñones, Ana Chatham, Janice Hagerman, Marisa Oliva and Carmen R. Valdez
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Miriam Solis: School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Sergio Morales: School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Noah Cohen: School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Katherine Pérez-Quiñones: School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Ana Chatham: Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Janice Hagerman: School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Marisa Oliva: Texas Children in Nature Network, USA
Carmen R. Valdez: UT Health School of Public Health San Antonio, USA

Urban Planning, 2024, vol. 9

Abstract: This participatory research project aimed to identify young people’s perceptions of the natural and built environment in their neighborhoods, including how social inequities shape those environments, and how their community and governments can improve them. The study took place with 25 young Latinas/os, ages 14 to 18, many of whom lived in a formerly unincorporated neighborhood (known as colonia ) in Pharr, Texas, located in the state’s Rio Grande Valley region. Through a walkalong, photovoice, and focus groups, participants identified waste management as a resounding priority. Their reflections highlighted their motivations behind and actions toward addressing this problem. This study makes two empirical contributions to scholarly and applied discussions on young people’s outdoor experiences. First, young people’s prioritization of waste highlights the role that trash—often in the form of scattered objects, small and large—has in shaping young people’s outdoor experiences. Second, young people are committed to improving waste conditions through individual and group actions, and they identified needed structural changes. Pharr youths’ environmental commitments call for investment in waste management and set the stage for more generative ways of experiencing the natural environment.

Keywords: environmental justice; infrastructure; Latinas/os; participatory research; urban planning; waste; young people (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:urbpla:v9:y:2024:a:8704

DOI: 10.17645/up.8704

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