Silvina Lopez Barrera

Overview

Summary:

Silvina Lopez Barrera is an Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University. She is a licensed Architect in Uruguay, LEED-AP accredited, and holds a Master of Architecture degree from Iowa State University. Her research focuses on how socio-spatial inequalities influence informal housing, housing insecurity, and community resilience in the US and in Latin America. Prof. Lopez Barrera’s field work methods incorporate oral histories and participatory processes to engage with disadvantaged communities. Her research has been published in several academic journals including Local Development and Society and Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability. She has published book chapters in Informality and the City: Theories, Actions, and Interventions (ed.by G. Marinic and P. Meninato) and in Public Space/Contested Space: Imagination and Occupation (ed.by K.D. Murphy and S. O’Driscoll). Prior to joining the faculty at Mississippi State University, Lopez Barrera was faculty member at Iowa State University and Middlebury College. She is member of the Uruguayan Society of Architects and International Associate member of the American Institute of Architects. Lopez Barrera currently serves in the AIA National Associates Committee as the AIA Mississippi State Associate Representative.

Selected Publications:

“Understanding Informal Housing in the Mississippi Delta: Lessons from Latin American Informal Settlements.” Silvina Lopez Barrera. In Informality and the City: Theories, Actions, and Interventions edited by Gregory Marinic and Pablo Meninato, Springer, 2022

"Centro Cultural Movil: Critical Service Learning and Design with Latinx Farmworkers", Silvina Lopez Barrera and Erin Sassin. In Public Space/Contested Space: Imagination and Occupation edited by Kevin D. Murphy and Sally O’Driscoll, Routledge, 2021

"Community resilience, governance, and [in]justice in the context of informal housing after an F3 tornado", Diego Thompson and Silvina Lopez Barrera. Local Development and Society, 2022, DOI: 10.1080/26883597.2022.2082881

"Housing Insecurity and Latinx Community Resilience in Small Towns in Mississippi", Silvina Lopez Barrera and Diego Thompson. Proceedings of the ARCC-EAAE Architectural Research Centers Consortium International Conference, 2022.

“Emmett Till Memorial: A Community Engaged Studio Project,” Silvina Lopez Barrera, John Ross and Simon Powney. Proceedings of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), 109th Annual Meeting, 2021.

“Community Resilience and Self-Help Housing After a Natural Disaster: A Case-Study from Southwestern Uruguay,” Silvina Lopez Barrera and Diego Thompson. Proceedings of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), International Conference, 2021.

“Community Resilience and Collective Agency Under Significant Changes in the Natural and Built Environment: A Community Capitals Framework Approach” Diego Thompson and Silvina Lopez Barrera. Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, 2019, ISSN: 13549839, DOI:10.1080/13549839.2019.1683723

“Building Collaborative Governance and Community Resilience under Socio-spatial Rural Disparities and Environmental Challenges”, Diego Thompson and Silvina Lopez Barrera. Community Development Practice, Fall 2019, Issue 23. https://www.comm-dev.org/professional-development/cds-practice

“The Right to the City in Informal Settlements: Case Studies of Post-Disaster Adaptation in Latin America.” Silvina Lopez Barrera, and Diego Thompson. Proceedings of the ARCC-EAAE Architectural Research Centers Consortium International Conference, 2019, ISBN 978-0-578-51124-5

“Exploring Spatial Justice Challenges in Rural Mississippi”, Silvina Lopez Barrera. Proceedings of the ARCC-EAAE Architectural Research Centers Consortium International Conference, 2018, ISBN 1-935129-24-4.

“Representations of Spatial Transformations: Informal Settlements and Industrial Agriculture Growth in Mercedes (Uruguay)”, Silvina Lopez Barrera, Spaces and Flows: An International Journal of Urban and Extra-urban Studies, Volume 2, Issue 4, 2013, ISSN 2154-8676.

Education:

• Master of Architecture (M.Arch.), Architecture, Iowa State University, 2010
• Bachelor of Architecture, Architecture, Universidad de la Republica, 2008