Exploring Displacement in the Colorado Context: An Education Debt?

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

For the past two decades, the Denver metro region has been the site of educational and residential displacement in many of its more densely-populated areas, often resulting from rising housing costs and school closures or restructuring. While the phenomenon of displacement is frequently and rightfully seen through the lens of housing instability, the education debt imposed via its consequences to students (ranging from ECE to IHE), their families, and their communities is not adequately understood. With a focus on historical and contemporary practices in the Denver area, this session will feature a facilitated panel discussion followed by an interactive dialogue between attendees and presenters. The panel discussion will explore the historical displacement of residents in the city’s historic Auraria community (Aurarians), razed in the 1970s to facilitate the construction of the Auraria Higher Education Center; the storied and layered relationship of residential displacement to K-12 school closures and reorganizations, and the community-wide consequences that affect early childhood education. By interweaving scholarly and experiential knowledge, the session aims to seed attendees' understanding of residential displacement as a source of educational debt.

Sub Unit

• Spotlight on Denver and the Region

Chair

• Antwan Jefferson, University of Colorado - Denver

Participants

• Ester J. de Jong, University of Colorado - Denver

• Ben Kirshner, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Robin Brandehoff, University of Colorado - Denver

• Nolbert Chavez, University of Colorado - Denver

• Liliana Flores Amaro, University of Colorado - Denver

• Karen Jaramillo, University of Colorado - Denver

• Maxine Sigala, University of Colorado - Denver