Placemaking and Pedagogy: Reimagining Educational Justice in Gentrifying Communities

• In Event: Justice as Praxis: Intergenerational Struggles, Place, and Pedagogy

Abstract

How does gentrification reshape not only urban neighborhoods but also the educational opportunities available to long-standing marginalized communities? This paper explores the intersection of racialized displacement and education through the lens of place-based justice, emphasizing the importance of preserving cultural and educational spaces for historically marginalized students. Using the setting of a small neighborhood in Tucson, AZ, this paper examines how schools are rebranded to align with the interests of affluent newcomers while pushing out low-income Latinx students. This paper employs a critical social foundations approach, incorporating storytelling and oral histories to foreground the lived experiences of those directly impacted. By centering the voices of displaced communities, this paper highlights the need for educational institutions to serve as sites of resistance rather than agents of exclusion.

Author

• Imelda G. Cortez, University of Arizona