Silvina Lopez Barrera

Title:

Assistant Professor

Contacts:

slopezbarrera@caad.msstate.edu
Office: (662) 325-2507
240 Giles Hall

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

Publications

Book, Chapter

Understanding Informal Housing in the Mississippi Delta: Lessons from Latin American Informal Settlements. Informality and the City: Theories, Actions, and Interventions . Ed. Pablo Meninato and Gregory Marinic. Springer. 2022
Centro Cultural Movil: Critical Service Learning and Design with Latinx Farmworkers. Public Space/Contested Space: Imagination and Occupation. Ed. Sally O’Driscoll and Kevin D. Murphy. Routledge. 2021

Conference Paper

Emmett Till Memorial: A Community Engaged Studio Project. Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). 2021

Conference Proceeding

Housing Insecurity and Latinx Community Resilience in Small Towns in Mississippi. Proceedings of the ARCC-EAAE Architectural Research Centers Consortium International Conference 2022. 2022
Community Resilience and Self-Help Housing After a Natural Disaster: A Case-Study from Southwestern Uruguay. Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), International Conference 2021. 2021
Emmett Till Memorial: A Community Engaged Studio Project. Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), 109th Annual Meeting. 2021
The Right to the City in Informal Settlements: Case Studies of Post-Disaster Adaptation in Latin America . Architectural Research Centers Consortium International Conference 2019. 2019

Journal Article

Community resilience, governance, and [in]justice in the context of informal housing after an F3 tornado. Local Development and Society. 2022
Building Collaborative Governance and Community Resilience under Socio-spatial Rural Disparities and Environmental Challenges . Community Development Practice. Volume Fall 2019, Issue Issue 23. 2019
Community resilience and collective agency under significant changes in the natural and built environment: a community capitals framework approach . Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability . Volume 24, Issue 12. 2019

Published Abstract

Critical Service-Learning Pedagogy in Architectural Education. 2019 ACSA/EAAE Teachers Conference 2019. 2019

Presentations

Abstract

"Participatory Design Using Emergent Technologies in Small-towns in Mississippi." Engagement Scholarship Consortium Conference 2019 , Engagement Scholarship Consortium, Denver, CO. 2019
"Resilience and Collective Mobilization in Two Communities of Uruguay: A Community Capitals Framework Approach ." 2019 Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Justice and Tyranny: Mobilizing Rural Sociological Imaginations, Rural Sociological Society, Richmond, VA. 2019
"Critical Service-Learning Pedagogy in Architectural Education ." 2019 ACSA/EAAE Teachers Conference, Practice of Teaching | Teaching of Practice, ACSA/EAAE, University of Antwerp, Belgium. 2019
"Addressing Housing Inequality through Affordable Housing in Small-Towns in Mississippi." Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) International Conference, Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC), Toronto, Canada. 2019
"Housing Inequality and Affordable Housing in Vulnerable Communities in Rural Mississippi ." 49th Annual Conference of the Urban Affairs Association, Urban Affairs Association, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). 2019
"Exploring a Socio-Structural Approach to Examine Community Resilience: Two Case Studies from Rural Uruguay." 50th Annual Meeting of the Alabama-Mississippi Sociological Association, Alabama-Mississippi Sociological Association, Mississippi State University. 2019

Lecture

"Housing Insecurity and Latinx Community Resilience in Small Towns in Mississippi." Course: The Paradox of Hunger – Rural Mississippi, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, . 2022
"Architecture and Communities." The Architecture Society Lecture Series, El Paso Community College Community and , El Paso, TX. 2022

Oral Presentation

"In the Details: Building A Community-Engaged Learning Course." Engaged Scholarship Consortium, Engaged Scholarship Consortium, Athens, Georgia.. 2022
"Activism in the Face of Economic and Housing Insecurity." Evicted: an exhibition , Margaret Walker Center, Jackson State University, Jackson State University. 2021

Other

"Housing Insecurity in Mississippi in Community Engagement and Social Justice in Architectural History Workshop." SAH Virtual Conference 2021, SAH , Virtual. 2021

Paper

"Effectiveness of Writing as an Active Learning Tool in an Architectural Design Studio." 37th National Conference on Beginning Design Students, National Conference on Beginning Design Students, Ball State University. 2022
"Informal Housing: An Evolving Architecture of Social Justice ." 40th Annual Conference of the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (SESAH), Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (SESAH), . 2022
"Informal Housing Practices in Small Towns in the American South." 110th Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) , Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) , Virtual. 2022
"Writing the History of American Home(-lessness)." SAH Annual Conference 2022, SAH, Pittsburgh. 2022
"Informal Housing in the Americas: Case Studies from Rural Areas in Uruguay and the Mississippi Delta ." 50th Urban Affairs Association Conference, Urban Affairs Association Conference, Washington, DC. 2022
"Writing the History of American Home(-lessness)." Society of Architectural Historians Annual International Conference 2022, Society of Architectural Historians , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 2022
" Latinx Community Resilience After Large Immigration Raids in Rural Mississippi." Diversity Research Mini-Talks, Research Week, ORED/ADI, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State . 2022
"Oral Histories of Housing Insecurity in the American South." AIARG Annual Conference 2022, All-Ireland Architecture Research Group, University College of Dublin. 2022
"Housing Insecurity and Latinx Community Resilience in Small Towns in Mississippi ." ARCC-EAAE Architectural Research Centers Consortium International Conference 2022 , ARCC-EAAE Architectural Research Centers Consortium, Florida International University. 2022
"Oral Histories of Housing Insecurity in the American South." Architecture and Its Stories , AIARG All Ireland Architectural Research Group, Online . 2022
"Understanding Informal Housing in the Mississippi Delta ." American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, American Association of Geographers , Virtual. 2022
"Emmett Till Memorial: A Community Engaged Studio Project." 109th Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), Virtual. 2021
"Ethics of Collaborative Work in Architectural Education." 36th National Conference on Beginning Design Students, National Conference on Beginning Design Students, Texas A&M University. 2021
"Supporting Community-Engaged Learning and Scholarship: A University-wide Fellowship Program." Engagement Scholarship Consortium Conference 2021, Engagement Scholarship Consortium, . 2021
"Community Resilience and Self-Help Housing After a Natural Disaster: A Case-Study from Southwestern Uruguay." Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), International Conference 2020-2021, , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2021
"Housing Inequality and Affordable Housing in the Mississippi Delta , Special Session: Mississippi River Watershed (MRW)." Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA),108th Annual Meeting , , San Diego, CA. (virtual due to Covid-19). 2020
"Ethics of Collaborative Work in Architectural Education." 36th National Conference on Beginning Design Students, , Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. 2020
"Collective Agency and Decision-Making Processes in Post-Disaster Housing Recovery: A Case Study from Southwestern Uruguay." Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) 51st Conference, , Temple, Arizona. (virtual due to Covid-19). 2020
"Spatial Justice in Latin-American Informal Settlements." International Conference on Design Principles & Practices. , , Pratt Institute, New York.. 2020
"Claiming the Right to the City through Informal Housing: Two Case Studies from Latin America ." Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) International Conference, Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC), Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada. 2019

Short Course

"In the Details: Building A Community-Engaged Learning Course." Engagement Scholarship Consortium Conference 2022, , University of Georgia. 2022

Webinar

"Service-learning in architecture curriculum: exploring tactical urbanism in Mississippi." Where Mission Meets Advocacy, Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2019

Areas of Expertise

Informal Housing Housing Insecurity Latin American Architecture and Urbanism Architectural Structures Participatory Design and Community Engagement