Reimagining Campus Design as Racialized and Ableist Structure: Student Narratives of Spatial Belonging

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 2:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Cripping Teacher Education: Unforgetting Histories and Co-Constructing Inclusive Futures

Abstract

This paper explores how the design and construction of college campuses shape student belonging and success for BIPOC students and those with non-apparent disabilities. Drawing on Critical Race Theory, DisCrit, and architectural theory, this critical qualitative study uses narrative inquiry and campus journey mapping to examine the lived spatial experiences of undergraduate students at a public university in the U.S. Southwest. Findings illuminate how built environments materialize institutional values, and how students navigate exclusion, adaptation, and resistance through space. This work contributes to higher education research by bridging student development, spatial justice, and design fields, offering insights for more equitable, anti-oppressive campus planning.

Author

• Vigor Wei Hon Lam, Colorado State University