News /geography/ en Millie Spencer and Emma Tyrrell: New York Times Article "How Do You Measure Snow From Space? First, Climb a Mountain." /geography/2026/03/24/millie-spencer-and-emma-tyrrell-new-york-times-article-how-do-you-measure-snow-space <span>Millie Spencer and Emma Tyrrell: New York Times Article "How Do You Measure Snow From Space? First, Climb a Mountain."</span> <span><span>Gabriela Rocha Sales</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-03-24T09:12:03-06:00" title="Tuesday, March 24, 2026 - 09:12">Tue, 03/24/2026 - 09:12</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2026-03/How%20Do%20You%20Measure%20Snow%20From%20Space%20First%2C%20Climb%20a%20Mountain_0.png?h=bd59f1d3&amp;itok=Sz3JSr1r" width="1200" height="800" alt="How Do You Measure Snow From Space First, Climb a Mountain"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/110"> Feature-Grad </a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/60"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1449" hreflang="en">Emma Tyrrell</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1371" hreflang="en">Millie Spencer</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1352" hreflang="en">News</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p><em>Article copied for archival purposes.</em></p><div><p><strong>How Do You Measure Snow From Space? First, Climb a Mountain.</strong></p></div><p>A new satellite could transform how water is studied worldwide. But to help unlock its capabilities, scientists first needed to take critical measurements on a mountaintop.</p><div><div><p><span>By </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/sachi-kitajima-mulkey" rel="nofollow">Sachi Kitajima Mulkey</a></p><p><span>Photographs and Video by Nina Riggio</span></p><div><div><p>Sachi Kitajima Mulkey and Nina Riggio reported from high in the Colorado Rockies alongside a team of scientists on skis.</p><p>March 24, 2026</p><div><p>At 4:30 a.m. on a recent Wednesday, three alpine scientists arose from fitful sleep in a chilly research lab in the Colorado mountains, 11,500 feet above sea level. They drank some grainy coffee, strapped into their skis and headed out into the moonlight, dragging a sled loaded with gear.</p><p>They had a satellite to meet.</p><p>The scientists were on an unusual mission. They needed to measure the depth of the snow at a particular mountaintop location just as a new satellite passed directly overhead. That satellite, equipped with powerful radar, has the potential to be the first one capable of estimating how much water is on the ground, in the form of fallen snow, from outer space.</p><p>It would be an extraordinary technological milestone, providing global data on snowpack, precipitation and how much water might be available to feed rivers and reservoirs downstream in spring and summer. But first, the satellite would need to be calibrated.</p><p>And one of the most accurate ways to do it is to be physically present on the mountain to measure the snow under the exact same conditions, and at the exact same time, that the satellite does. Other scientists are doing similar things around the world.</p><p>Precise timing matters. Snow changes quickly and the satellite passes over the same spot only once every 12 days.</p><p>So with hearts pounding from the thin alpine air the three skied out onto moonlit snow. Two of them towed the sled, equipped with a small portable radar that is capable of measuring the snow’s depth and density simply by dragging it back and forth across the mountainside.</p><p>“Only 4 centimeters deep here!” one of the scientists, Emma Tyrrell, called out. She was leading the project as part of her Ph.D. at the 91Ҹ and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine 91Ҹ. At the back of the sled, helping her pull it, was Arielle Koshkin, a postdoctoral researcher in the same lab, who made a note of the measurement.</p><div><p>For two hours, Ms. Tyrrell and Dr. Koshkin skied back and forth in precise zigzags across the slope of the ridgeline, pulling the radar with them and plunging a ruler into the snow every few feet. Somewhere, invisibly above them, the satellite charted its own path across the sky.</p><p>The satellite, known as NISAR, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/science/space-nisar-nasa-india.html" rel="nofollow">launched last summer by National Aeronautics and Space Administration</a> and the Indian Space 91Ҹ Organization. The satellite’s capabilities are the closest humans have come to measuring water content in snow across vast regions, from space, the holy grail of snow science.</p><div><div><p>The new technology comes at a critical time. As the world warms, snow is vanishing across many parts of the planet. That includes Western United States, which is currently undergoing a record snow drought. In states including Colorado and Utah, the snowpack is the lowest since comprehensive modern recording began, 40 years ago. That’s a problem because these states rely on snow melt for up to 80 percent of their water.</p><p>Snowpack, Ms. Tyrrell said, acts like a frozen water tower, storing and releasing water that then gets used by communities and farms downstream throughout the year. She paused to gesture across the mountain peaks, where the snow was visibly patchy and thin.</p><div><p>The area she was working, known as Niwot Ridge, would typically be blanketed in a thick layer of snow this time of year. The area is part of a watershed that provides a third of the water needed by the city of 91Ҹ, which was visible that morning, some 25 miles away, as cluster of twinkling lights.</p><p>The warming world will doubtlessly transform Colorado, but because of the state’s high elevation there’s uncertainty about precisely how that might play out, Dr. Koshkin said, speaking as she helped Ms. Tyrrell adjust a GPS sensor on the top of the sled. Some precipitation might fall as rain instead of snow, but rain doesn’t remain stored on the mountainside to steadily provide meltwater later in the year. She also said the swings between good and bad snow years are likely to become more drastic.</p><p>The sun had started to rise, tinting the mountains scarlet. Several dozen yards away, Millie Spencer, a Ph.D. candidate in the same research group helping out on the day’s mission, was digging a snow pit with a shovel.</p><p>This old-school approach remains the gold standard for accurate data on snow. Even when working with modern technologies, like the sled radar, scientists often take analog measurements from snow pits at the same time.</p><div><p>Water managers still rely on long-term records from manual snow measurements to predict how much water to expect from snow each year, from which they create complex forecasting 91Ҹ that patch together different kinds of data. Perhaps most important of these is a large federally run network of snow-weighing sensors that take daily measurements across Western states.</p><p>But these sources capture only conditions at a single, isolated point. That’s a problem, because snow can vary significantly across even a short area. And as snow vanishes from the places it used to fall, scientists and water managers say these methods will become less reliable.</p><div><p>The new satellite has some important caveats. It can’t measure snow in densely forested areas, or if the snow becomes too wet. And the satellite’s radar doesn’t always strike Earth at an optimal angle for snow measurements.</p><p>The problem is that it wasn’t designed or intended to measure snow, said Jack Tarricone, a scientist at the University of Maryland and NASA. The original mission, first proposed more than two decades ago, was to monitor crops and a variety of other Earth systems like natural disasters, tectonic activity and glaciers.</p><div><p>While the new satellite may be no silver bullet, it’s the best chance scientists have had to measure snow on a wide scale. 91Ҹers at universities and federal agencies alike said they had spent years anticipating the satellite and preparing for its launch.</p><p>Now, the clock is ticking. Satellites often stay up well past their intended life spans, but the snow-measuring radar on this one is planned to operate for only three years.</p><div><p>That’s one reason Ms. Tyrrell felt urgency to do these calibration measurements now. Other teams of scientists are also taking measurements at other locations around the world, using a variety of different techniques, to give the satellite the best chance of being accurately calibrated against differing locations and geographical conditions.</p><p>Some are flying helicopters and drones with laser scanning devices, other are using radars like Ms. Tyrrell. Each method has pros and cons, but for all its scientific benefits, dragging a sled is certainly hard and slow going.</p><p>After several hours, around 7:30 a.m., Ms. Tyrrell and Dr. Koshkin started wrapping up for the day. The satellite had moved on.</p><div><p>They dragged their radar sled back toward the mountainside lab while Ms. Spencer, still working on her snow pit, struggled to examine lumps of snow crystals with a magnifying glass. The task was made nearly impossible by the ribbons of sleet pelting her face.</p><p>Back at the shed, Ms. Tyrrell unzipped the cloth covering over the radar and spotted a problem. Snow had somehow gotten onto the device. Worse, one of its many wires had become unplugged.</p><div><div><p>But there was nothing to be done. It was probably fine, Dr. Koshkin reassured her. The device was made for snow, after all. And most likely the wire fell out as they hauled it indoors.</p><p>Next would come a harrowing 45-minute drive back down the mountain in an open-air vehicle with caterpillar treads. Fully checking her data would have to wait until she was back in 91Ҹ. Either way, she said she intended to try again when the satellite comes back in a couple weeks, as long as the snow doesn’t melt in the meantime.</p><p>That’s just the nature of studying snow. “There’s only so much you can control,” she said. “We have to work with what we’ve got.”</p><p>Sachi&nbsp;Kitajima Mulkey covers climate and the environment for The Times.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>A new satellite could transform how water is studied worldwide. But to help unlock its capabilities, scientists first needed to take critical measurements on a mountaintop.<br> <br> By Sachi Kitajima Mulkey</div> <script> window.location.href = `https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/climate/snow-satellite-rockies-research.html`; </script> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:12:03 +0000 Gabriela Rocha Sales 3952 at /geography Katherine Siegel Named in The Story Exchange's Saving Nature: 11 Women to Watch in Science /geography/2026/03/06/katherine-siegel-named-story-exchanges-saving-nature-11-women-watch-science <span>Katherine Siegel Named in The Story Exchange's Saving Nature: 11 Women to Watch in Science </span> <span><span>Gabriela Rocha Sales</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-03-06T09:57:15-07:00" title="Friday, March 6, 2026 - 09:57">Fri, 03/06/2026 - 09:57</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/people/img_4614_small.jpg?h=8e20b99e&amp;itok=TLMqw4A1" width="1200" height="800" alt> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/106"> Feature-Faculty </a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/60"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1437" hreflang="en">Katherine Siegel</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1352" hreflang="en">News</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p>Copied from The Story Exchange (https://thestoryexchange.org/11-women-to-watch-in-science-2026/) for archival purposes.</p><p><strong>Letter from the Editor</strong></p><p>We live in a time when words like “women,” “gender” and “diversity” are <a href="https://pen.org/banned-words-list/" rel="nofollow">banned</a> or restricted in federal research grants, particularly at agencies like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.&nbsp;</p><p>Yet that has not stopped trailblazing women from searching for urgent, innovative, science-based solutions to the human-caused “<a href="https://350.org/science/" rel="nofollow">climate crisis</a>” (another phrase that’s been banned, along with “global warming” and “emissions”).&nbsp;</p><p>These scientists are working to safeguard the safety of our water, air and soil. They’re seeking the smartest ways we can transition to clean energy. They’re pushing their limits to stop deforestation and curb greenhouse gas emissions. And they’re doing it within a system that – on top of the banned words and the Trump administration’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history" rel="nofollow">rollback</a> of environmental protections — has long discriminated against them. 91Ҹ <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history" rel="nofollow">confirms</a> that women in science are <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/whats-behind-pay-gap-stem-jobs" rel="nofollow">paid</a> less, given fewer <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7432663/%23:~:text=Moreover,%2520an%2520almost%2520intractable%2520salary,STEMM%2520need%2520to%2520be%2520recognized." rel="nofollow">leadership</a> roles, and receive far less <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04966-w" rel="nofollow">recognition</a> than their male peers.&nbsp;</p><p>We can help with that last problem.&nbsp;</p><p>At The Story Exchange, we have long elevated women’s voices and achievements. Today, we are thrilled to spotlight these women scientists — <a href="https://thestoryexchange.org/know-a-trailblazing-woman-scientist-nominate-her-for-our-cutting-edge-women-in-science-list/" rel="nofollow">nominated by peers</a> — who are working tirelessly on our behalf. Their efforts alone will, of course, not be enough to save our natural world. We need thousands of committed scientists (and business and industries) like them. But their stories, dedication and perseverance can surely inspire others to try to do the same – and maybe just give the Earth a fighting chance.&nbsp;</p><p>Kathleen Alexander</p><p>Marianne Cowherd</p><p>Liz Dennett</p><p>Cynthia Gerlain-Safdi</p><p>Madeline Walker Miller</p><p>Rebecca Peters</p><p>Katherine Siegel</p><p>Ada Smith</p><p>Paige Stanley</p><p>Sarah Waickowski</p><p>Yagmur Yegin</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>"These women are using their hard-earned knowledge to protect our planet already ravaged by brutal storms, epic floods and intense wildfires." </div> <script> window.location.href = `https://thestoryexchange.org/11-women-to-watch-in-science-2026/`; </script> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:57:15 +0000 Gabriela Rocha Sales 3950 at /geography Illegality and the transformation of low-wage labor regimes in the context of rural gentrification /geography/2026/03/02/illegality-and-transformation-low-wage-labor-regimes-context-rural-gentrification <span>Illegality and the transformation of low-wage labor regimes in the context of rural gentrification</span> <span><span>Gabriela Rocha Sales</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-03-02T14:47:59-07:00" title="Monday, March 2, 2026 - 14:47">Mon, 03/02/2026 - 14:47</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2026-03/Steamboat%20Spring%2C%20CO.jpeg?h=71976bb4&amp;itok=QK6LSzTt" width="1200" height="800" alt="Steamboat Spring, CO"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/720"> Colloquia </a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/60"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1352" hreflang="en">News</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1459" hreflang="en">colloquia</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2026-03/Illegality%20and%20the%20transformation%20of%20low-wage%20labor%20regimes%20in%20the%20context%20of%20rural%20gentrification_TV.png?itok=CgE8W76Y" width="750" height="422" alt="Illegality and the transformation of low-wage labor regimes in the context of rural gentrification"> </div> </div> <p><span><strong>Dr. Lise Nelson&nbsp;</strong></span><br><span>Professor&nbsp;</span><br><span>School of Geography &amp; Development&nbsp;</span><br><span>University of Arizona&nbsp;</span></p><p><span><strong>Abstract:&nbsp;</strong>Over the last three decades, domestic amenity or “lifestyle” migration has stimulated a process of rural gentrification across the United States, shifting landscapes of production to landscapes of consumption--from Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Highlands, North Carolina. My research investigates an under-appreciated dimension of rural gentrification: the recruitment of low-wage, mostly undocumented Latine immigrant workers essential to building and maintaining gentrifying landscapes and lifestyles. The talk at UC 91Ҹ focuses on the emergence and consolidation of immigrant-based labor regimes in two case study communities between the late 1990s and late 2000s, Steamboat Springs, CO and Rabun County, GA, exploring qualitative data that illustrate how and why employers in gentrification-linked sectors recruited an unfamiliar labor force. I trace how, over time, employers transformed their business model to reach new levels of profitability predicated on access to racially marked, “illegal” workers. I also discuss how these racialized labor regimes shaped life and work for immigrant newcomers navigating rural landscapes of affluence.</span></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Over the last three decades, domestic amenity or “lifestyle” migration has stimulated a process of rural gentrification across the United States, shifting landscapes of production to landscapes of consumption--from Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Highlands, North Carolina. </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 02 Mar 2026 21:47:59 +0000 Gabriela Rocha Sales 3949 at /geography Black Environmental Science: Nanny, Obeah, and the Mysterious Ecologies of Marronage /geography/2026/02/23/black-environmental-science-nanny-obeah-and-mysterious-ecologies-marronage <span>Black Environmental Science: Nanny, Obeah, and the Mysterious Ecologies of Marronage</span> <span><span>Gabriela Rocha Sales</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-02-23T10:37:19-07:00" title="Monday, February 23, 2026 - 10:37">Mon, 02/23/2026 - 10:37</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2026-01/_DSC6475_headshot.jpg?h=88b698b9&amp;itok=So_tRqtG" width="1200" height="800" alt="Dr. Alex A. Moulton"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/720"> Colloquia </a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/60"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1352" hreflang="en">News</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1459" hreflang="en">colloquia</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2026-02/Black%20Environmental%20Science%20Nanny%2C%20Obeah%2C%20and%20the%20Mysterious%20Ecologies%20of%20Marronage_TV_Sign.png?itok=2P2bWPk3" width="750" height="422" alt="Black Environmental Science Nanny, Obeah, and the Mysterious Ecologies of Marronage"> </div> </div> <p><span><strong>Dr. Alex A. Moulton&nbsp;</strong></span><br><span>Assistant Professor&nbsp;</span><br><span>Geography and Environmental Science&nbsp;</span><br><span>Hunter College, CUNY&nbsp;</span><br><span>Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies&nbsp;</span></p><h5><span>Abstract:&nbsp;</span></h5><p><span>Within Afro-Jamaica religions, “science” is used as descriptor for traditional medicinal knowledge, ritual practices, and spirituality. Practitioners of Obeah, Myal, and other Afrocentric spiritual traditions, often identify themselves as “scientists”. We can read this as a challenge to the negation and denigration of Marron practices as evil or satanic. Through the analytical framework of Black Ecologies, this paper leans into a reading of the maroon claim to science not so much an appeal for Western science or the translation of Maroon practices into Western scientific rationality, but an assertion of a counter-science, an alternative Black science that is not less valid than Western science. Centering the famed Grande Nanny, chieftainess of the Windward Maroons, I consider how the mythic stories of marronage and maroon obeah disclose a Black ecological science concerned with the advancement of Black communal flourish. While Nanny is denounced by colonial historians as a practitioner of witchcraft, and unmoored from reality, I argue for attention to the concrete Black ecologies, messiness of social reproduction, and gendered geographies of mobility that placemaking evince. Taking seriously the British fears of the maroons, narrated as a ghostly foe haunting the project of conquest, the paper considers the present imperative of marronage in struggles for socioecological justice and agrarian sovereignty.</span></p><p><span><strong>Zoom Option:</strong> </span><a href="https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/92617865791" rel="nofollow"><span>https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/92617865791</span></a><span>&nbsp;</span></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:37:19 +0000 Gabriela Rocha Sales 3941 at /geography 2026 Geography Mapathon /geography/2026/02/10/2026-geography-mapathon <span>2026 Geography Mapathon</span> <span><span>Gabriela Rocha Sales</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-02-10T09:39:36-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 10, 2026 - 09:39">Tue, 02/10/2026 - 09:39</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2026-02/Mapathon%202026.png?h=bd59f1d3&amp;itok=yKdhYOAH" width="1200" height="800" alt="Mapathon 2026"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1523"> Mapathon </a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/60"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1352" hreflang="en">News</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2026-02/2026%20Mapathon.png?itok=BaQrv3fR" width="750" height="970" alt="2026 Mapathon"> </div> </div> <p><span>The Colorado Geographic Alliance (</span><a href="/geography/co-geographic-alliance" rel="nofollow"><span>COGA</span></a><span>) and CU Geography are calling for maps that capture life affirming geographies. This year's theme is Cartographies of Hope.</span></p><p><span>"Cartographies of hope are doorways to rehearsing a liberatory world in the here and now."&nbsp; - </span><a href="/geography/isaac-rivera" rel="nofollow"><span>Dr. Isaac Rivera</span></a></p><h4>Submit Your Map</h4><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://forms.gle/so5VAVkxBUDxRLdE8" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">CU 91Ҹ Affiliate Submission</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://forms.gle/hXqnqVyEvTSt8cry7" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Colorado College and University Affiliate Submission</span></a></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-blue ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="https://forms.gle/LgAisg41cz6Si1Gk8" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents">Colorado High School Affiliate Submission</span></a></p><p>Email <a href="mailto:coga@colorado.edu" rel="nofollow">coga@colorado.edu</a> with questions and technical difficulties.</p><h4>Mapathon Events on Friday, April 10th:</h4><ul><li>Open House<ul><li>Food and refreshments.</li><li>Gallery walk of map submissions and category winner.</li><li>People's choice voting.</li></ul></li><li><span><strong>Grand Opening&nbsp;</strong>of Dr. Isaac Rivera's Rita Martinez Spatial Justice lab for Life Affirming Geographies</span>.</li><li>Professor Sarah Elwood's Lecture 4:00-5:00pm.</li><li>People’s Choice Award Winner announced at 5:30pm.</li></ul><h4><span>Frequently Asked Questions</span></h4><div><span><strong>What maps are accepted?</strong></span></div><p dir="ltr"><span>Conventional, creative, drawn, digital, and abstract representations of geographic spaces or places are all acceptable. See this link for examples. Both digital and analog maps are accepted. For analog or drawn maps, please take a picture of your map and submit the picture to the online submission portal.</span></p><div><span><strong>What will happen after I submit my map?</strong></span></div><p dir="ltr"><span>At the Open House map gallery before the Professor Sarah Elwood's Lecture on April 10th, attendees can vote on their favorite Map (People’s Choice Award). Two winners (Best Overall Map and People's Choice Map).</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Categories:</span></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><span>Grand Prize: Best Overall Map</span></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><span>People’s Choice: &nbsp;Voted on by attendees</span></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><span>Thematic Awards:</span></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><span>Life Affirming Geographies</span></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><span>Geographies of Resistance and Repair</span></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><span>Geographies of Care</span></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><span>Geographies of Sustainability and Environmental Justice</span></p></li></ul></li></ul><div><span><strong>How will my map be judged?</strong></span></div><p dir="ltr"><span>Once you submit your map it will be reviewed by a panel of CU Geography Faculty and Graduate Students based on the following criteria:</span></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Content</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Evident engagement with the larger "Cartographies of Hope” theme.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Evident engagement with the theme the map is submitted under (i.e. life affirming, resistance &amp; repair, care, sustainability &amp; Environmental Justice).</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Readability/educational value (i.e. can the content of the map be followed and does it provide an interesting or important lens of the topic it addresses?).</p></li></ul></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Design and Style</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Title (i.e. is the title engaging and clearly connected with the content of the map?).</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Color balance (i.e., are the colors engaging but not overbearing? Do they work well with each other?).</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Layout (i.e., is the layout balanced, easy to follow, and engaging?).</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Images/visuals (i.e., are they engaging? Are they balanced? Do they match the content?).</p></li></ul></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Symbology</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><span>(i.e. does the content match the representation?).</span></p></li></ul></li></ul><div><span><strong>I'm not a CU 91Ҹ Student, can I still submit?</strong></span></div><p dir="ltr"><span>Yes! Those outside of CU 91Ҹ are welcome to submit to the Mapathon and will be evaluated with their academic background in mind.&nbsp; For example, if you are a K-12 Educator, we encourage you to submit your students' maps and they will not be judged against PhD-level submissions.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span><strong>What did last year's maps look like?</strong></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>See our winners and other submissions </span><a href="/geography/2025/03/19/2025-mapathon-winners" rel="nofollow"><span>here</span></a><span>.</span></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:39:36 +0000 Gabriela Rocha Sales 3944 at /geography Colorado Geographies Panel /geography/2026/02/09/colorado-geographies-panel <span>Colorado Geographies Panel</span> <span><span>Gabriela Rocha Sales</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-02-09T07:19:22-07:00" title="Monday, February 9, 2026 - 07:19">Mon, 02/09/2026 - 07:19</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2026-02/AdobeStock_260485930.jpeg?h=cb97478a&amp;itok=zPDRY_Dl" width="1200" height="800" alt="colorado map"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/720"> Colloquia </a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1522"> Colorado Geographies Panel </a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/60"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1352" hreflang="en">News</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1459" hreflang="en">colloquia</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2026-02/Colorado%20Geographies%20Panel.png?itok=N33BvA_-" width="750" height="422" alt="Colorado Geographies Panel"> </div> </div> <p><span><strong>Sid Whiting Jr (Sicinagu Lakota)&nbsp;</strong></span><br><span>Indigenous Youth Educator&nbsp;</span><br><span>Cultural Engagement Coordinator&nbsp;</span></p><p><span><strong>Jeanette Vizguerra&nbsp;</strong></span><br><span>Community Organizer&nbsp;</span><br><span>Founder of Sanctuary For All&nbsp;</span></p><p><span><strong>Kalyn Rose Heffernan&nbsp;</strong></span><br><span>Education Freedom Fighter&nbsp;</span><br><span>Lead Singer of Wheelchair Sports Camp&nbsp;</span></p><p><span>In the geographic tradition of Clyde Woods, this panel underscores the knowledge holders of Colorado, making visible the everyday ways in which our speakers transform places, landscapes, and futures into spaces of life affirming possibility. This panel will discuss Native ways of knowing Colorado, accountable relations with Native nations and peoples; immigrant dignity and practices of relational liberation; disability justice and the transformation of the built environment to affirm all life. The seeds for a liberatory world are already here.</span></p><p><span>This panel will be held in the <strong>Map Libraries&nbsp;</strong>at CU-91Ҹ. This is located in the basement level of the Earth and Sciences building.</span></p><h3><span>Panelist Bios:</span></h3><h5><span><strong>Sid Whiting Jr</strong></span></h5><p><span>Mr. Sid Whiting is Sicangu Lakota from the Rosebud Sioux reservation in south central South Dakota. He has lived in Denver most of his life as a part of the Native American community. He began working in his community at a young age. Being the president of the metro Indian youth group at 16 years of age, his family has been a part of creating many Native American organizations in the Denver area. Sid has been a part of the Denver March Pow wow and TallBull Memorial Grounds since their inception in the mid 70's. His involvement in community has been with youth primarily. Such as a Board member for Casa Milagro Youth Services. Sid's involvement with youth has seen him as a teacher for the now defunct American Indian Academy of Denver. But currently he is a Cultural Academics Presenter for multiple school districts in the metro area. Doing presentations such as, Indigenous Drum Math, Tipi Calculus, Eagle Feather Physics, and Bison Science using Native objects. He also works for Create ayA, which is a Cultural arts promotional organization for Native Artists that puts on Denver's only Native American Comic Con and Futurism's event. As a Cultural Engagement Coordinator, Sid sits on the Denver Art Museum's Indigenous Council and the Native American Council at the University of Denver. He currently has objects at The Denver Art Museum Native American Gallery and a Gallery of objects at the Creative Nations Gallery in the Dairy Arts Complex in 91Ҹ. Sid is currently working on the Living Land Project at Denver's City Park, transforming a portion of the park into a Native American inspired vision. This vision includes a Short Grass Prairie, a Medicinal Medicine Garden, and an Amphitheater meeting place for large events. Sid's work with the city of Denver has him working with others to build a Native American Cultural Embassy, a 20 million dollar project that was passed in the Vibrant Denver Bond last November. Sid has many other projects he is working on, including the Breathing Healing Bus, and the Sundance Film Festival in 91Ҹ just to mention a few.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><h5><span><strong>Jeanette Vizguerra</strong></span></h5><p><span>Jeanette Vizguerra originally from Mexico City came to the USA in 1997 for safety, as her husband suffered three express kidnappings in Mexico City. Like many immigrants, even though she has a degree in Psychology was unable to practice her profession here. Her first job was as a janitor. There she immediately began her activism for labor rights, which led the SIEU Local 105 union to invite her to work directly with them just three months after arriving in the USA. They saw her potential to organize, and from then on, her life has been dedicated to serving Colorado's most vulnerable communities. She is a champion of labor, civil, and human rights, and founder of immigrant rights in Colorado, her work is not only local but also national. She is the founder of the sanctuary movement in Colorado and independent organizations such as Sanctuary for All and Abolish ICE Denver. She supports and participates in all movements that affect her community. As someone impacted by the immigration system, she has been detained four times in ICE detention centers and twice sought sanctuary refuge. Her resilience led Time magazine to name her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2017. She sought sanctuary to resist deportation proceedings during the Trump administration, as her case became known worldwide. She has not stopped working for her community. For 30 years even while detained, she helped organize to liberate others within the detention center. She is the recipient of many civil rights awards and continues her work in the community.</span></p><h5><span><strong>Kalyn Rose Heffernan</strong></span></h5><p><span><strong>Kalyn&nbsp;</strong>is the wheelchair-using, rap heavy, many arts, educating freedom fighter. Kalyn, who fronts the internationally acclaimed band Wheelchair Sports Camp has more recently stretched into theatre, performance art, politics, permanent installations, museum takeovers, prison tours, film and who knows what’s next. She infamously led Denver's first disabled, queer, artist campaign for the mayor seat 2019. Well known for fighting for access, human rights, and calling out those in power who protect capital interests over the future - Kalyn is well known for raising hell in a very loud and distinct high pitched sense of humor.</span></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>In the geographic tradition of Clyde Woods, this panel underscores the knowledge holders of Colorado, making visible the everyday ways in which our speakers transform places, landscapes, and futures into spaces of life affirming possibility. This panel will discuss Native ways of knowing Colorado, accountable relations with Native nations and peoples; immigrant dignity and practices of relational liberation; disability justice and the transformation of the built environment to affirm all life. The seeds for a liberatory world are already here.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:19:22 +0000 Gabriela Rocha Sales 3943 at /geography Bodies as Infrastructure: Gender, Water, and situated infrastructural violence in North Indian Cities /geography/2026/02/02/bodies-infrastructure-gender-water-and-situated-infrastructural-violence-north-indian <span>Bodies as Infrastructure: Gender, Water, and situated infrastructural violence in North Indian Cities</span> <span><span>Gabriela Rocha Sales</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-02-02T07:14:38-07:00" title="Monday, February 2, 2026 - 07:14">Mon, 02/02/2026 - 07:14</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2026-01/bodies%20as%20infra%20image-1.JPG?h=19f14c2c&amp;itok=6EollQMS" width="1200" height="800" alt="Bodies as Infrastructure"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/720"> Colloquia </a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/60"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1352" hreflang="en">News</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1459" hreflang="en">colloquia</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2026-01/Bodies%20as%20Infrastructure%20Gender%2C%20Water%2C%20and%20situated%20infrastructural%20violence%20in%20North%20Indian%20Cities%20TV.png?itok=eZaOg8RQ" width="750" height="422" alt="Bodies as Infrastructure Gender, Water, and situated infrastructural violence in North Indian Cities"> </div> </div> <p><span><strong>Yaffa Truelove</strong></span><br><span>Associate Professor</span><br><span>Department of Geography</span><br><span>91Ҹ at 91Ҹ</span><br><a href="mailto:truelove@colorado.edu" rel="nofollow"><span>truelove@colorado.edu</span></a></p><h5><span><strong>Abstract</strong></span></h5><p><span>Over the last decade, a growing number of North Indian cities have been declared “waterless,” referring to the temporary stoppage of piped water delivery for days or weeks on end. While receiving widespread media attention for these moments of water crisis – with newspapers often showing images of middle-class residents queuing in long lines at off-grid water sources – urban “waterlessness” is an everyday reality for working class residents who altogether lack access to the centralized network. These residents piece together fragmented and off-grid infrastructures as a normative practice, enabling water to flow to homes and across neighborhoods, maintaining city life.&nbsp;Through conceptualizing bodies as part of infrastructure, this research traces the ways the social and material work of the body helps to build, develop, and maintain cities and their water networks in North India. Bringing a feminist political ecology lens to infrastructure studies, I specifically show how gendered/casted/classed bodies act as part of urban infrastructure through the quotidian practices and labor of finding and circulating water to households in Delhi, Mohali, and Shimla. By examining when and how bodies become “internalized” as part of infrastructural networks, this research aims to render visible often overlooked dimensions of infrastructure and our analytic view of it. I argue that conceptualizing the body as infrastructure helps make visible 1) the embodied labor, maintenance and care work that subsidizes and enables infrastructural assemblages and networks, 2) the socio-political processes and forces that produce the necessity for particular gendered /casted/racialized/classed bodies to act as infrastructure in the first place, and 3) situated forms of infrastructural violence that emerge from everyday practices that enable water’s circulation in cities.&nbsp;</span></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Over the last decade, a growing number of North Indian cities have been declared “waterless,” referring to the temporary stoppage of piped water delivery for days or weeks on end...</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 02 Feb 2026 14:14:38 +0000 Gabriela Rocha Sales 3940 at /geography Pictures of the Colorado Geographic Alliance Relaunch Party /geography/2025/11/20/pictures-colorado-geographic-alliance-relaunch-party <span>Pictures of the Colorado Geographic Alliance Relaunch Party</span> <span><span>Gabriela Rocha Sales</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-11-20T15:34:51-07:00" title="Thursday, November 20, 2025 - 15:34">Thu, 11/20/2025 - 15:34</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-11/P1110541.JPG?h=3630b449&amp;itok=t-WYzJaC" width="1200" height="800" alt="COGA Party"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1481"> COGA-News </a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/60"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1482" hreflang="en">COGA</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1352" hreflang="en">News</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>See pictures taken from the Colorado Geographic Alliance Relaunch Party that took place on November 17th, 2025. </div> <script> window.location.href = `https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCByic`; </script> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 22:34:51 +0000 Gabriela Rocha Sales 3917 at /geography Graduate Students Demonstrate Drone at MRS to Science Bound Students /geography/2025/09/24/graduate-students-demonstrate-drone-mrs-science-bound-students <span>Graduate Students Demonstrate Drone at MRS to Science Bound Students</span> <span><span>Gabriela Rocha Sales</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-09-24T07:56:16-06:00" title="Wednesday, September 24, 2025 - 07:56">Wed, 09/24/2025 - 07:56</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-09/IMG_3961.JPG?h=71976bb4&amp;itok=7Ual-rrM" width="1200" height="800" alt="Science Bound Students at MRS"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/60"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1456" hreflang="en">Bella Kamplain</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1117" hreflang="en">Holly Roth</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1352" hreflang="en">News</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1372" hreflang="en">Nic Tarasewicz</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p>Thank you to our graduate students, Nic Tarasewicz, Holly Roth, and Bella Kamplain for helping out the Science Bound 91Ҹ Retreat students at the Mountain 91Ҹ Station. See pictures below of Nic demonstrating how a drone gathers infrared data.</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-09/IMG_3961.JPG?itok=kfKnvyKh" width="1500" height="1125" alt="Science Bound Students at MRS"> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p><div class="row ucb-column-container"><div class="col ucb-column"> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-09/IMG_4141_1.JPEG?itok=Z9rPS5RH" width="1500" height="2000" alt="Science"> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-09/IMG_3143.PNG?itok=gyuHPt8j" width="1500" height="692" alt="Drone Eye's View"> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-09/IMG_3144.PNG?itok=mHeyhdYd" width="1500" height="692" alt="Infrared Drone's Eye View"> </div> </div><div class="col ucb-column"> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-09/IMG_3963_0.JPG?itok=0iMCooSJ" width="1500" height="2000" alt="Science Bound Students at MRS"> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-09/IMG_3146.PNG?itok=grTqKNxS" width="1500" height="692" alt="Drone's Eye View"> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-09/IMG_3145.PNG?itok=xllqlfFg" width="1500" height="692" alt="Infrared Drone's Eye View"> </div> </div></div><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Wed, 24 Sep 2025 13:56:16 +0000 Gabriela Rocha Sales 3905 at /geography Why Be a Star When You Could Make a Constellation /geography/2025/09/12/why-be-star-when-you-could-make-constellation <span>Why Be a Star When You Could Make a Constellation</span> <span><span>Gabriela Rocha Sales</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-09-12T14:04:30-06:00" title="Friday, September 12, 2025 - 14:04">Fri, 09/12/2025 - 14:04</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-09/Fig3.1-monica-fernando-justseeds-csa-11x17-color-gradient_orig.jpg?h=693342d0&amp;itok=dNMM6ecX" width="1200" height="800" alt="Why be a star when you can be a constellation?"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/720"> Colloquia </a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/60"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1352" hreflang="en">News</a> <a href="/geography/taxonomy/term/1459" hreflang="en">colloquia</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/geography/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2025-09/Why%20Be%20a%20Star%20When%20You%20Could%20Make%20a%20Constellation.png?itok=eqTdSQx2" width="750" height="422" alt="Why Be a Star When You Could Make a Constellation"> </div> </div> <p><span><strong>Dr. Megan Ybarra&nbsp;</strong></span></p><p><span>Associate Professor</span><br><span>Department of Communication</span><br><span>University of California San Diego&nbsp;</span></p><h3><span><strong>Abstract:&nbsp;</strong></span></h3><p><span>“Why Be a Star When You Could Make a Constellation?” traces solidarities of radical placemaking across Black, Indigenous, Asian and Latine communities in Tacoma and beyond. I intervene in movement histories to decenter traditional hubs of radical action (New York, the Bay Area) and predominantly male charismatic leaders. Instead, I trace direct action urban planning across Coast Salish territory from the 1960s-1980s, leading to the creation of community-owned cultural centers and settler-state recognition of Indigenous fishing rights. When the Puyallup Tribe reclaimed their treaty rights to the waters, they engaged in “fish ins” named after civil rights “sit ins”. When the settler state took a hospital and turned it into a youth jail, Puyallups engaged in direct action to free the youth and claim the land, then demanding that the federal government recognize the de facto rights they materially claimed. In tracing these powerful instances of radical placemaking and their long-term effects, I show how the Puyallup refusal to accept their land as stolen, toxic, or disposable fueled movement constellations that reshaped the politics of the possible. Taken together, these instances of radical placemaking point to the possibility of movement constellations that&nbsp;center non-human relations and communities of color in building up life-affirming institutions. At the turn of the twenty-first century, most of the direct-action gains remain, but the toxic fate of detention center constructed on the Tacoma Tar Pits reveals tradeoffs.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Why Be a Star When You Could Make a Constellation?” traces solidarities of radical placemaking across Black, Indigenous, Asian and Latine communities in Tacoma and beyond. I intervene in movement histories to decenter traditional hubs of radical action (New York, the Bay Area) and predominantly male charismatic leaders...</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 12 Sep 2025 20:04:30 +0000 Gabriela Rocha Sales 3902 at /geography