ABSTRACT
Latinx people and their cultures and spaces are a thematic void in architecture. This chapter situates Latinx people and spaces in a Global South epistemology that reaches well into the borders of the “north,” specifically the United States, to make sense of how this spatial power relation shapes Latinx representation in architecture. Latinx communities in major US cities have long been described as “internal colonies,” their spaces marginalized from the center of economic and political power. Racial divisions of labor also impact how Latinx people shape the built environment. While Latinx people represent less than 10% of employed architects, they represent more than double that among construction workers. Moreover, Latinx people have a demographic power that is visually prominent in the vernacular landscape of cities and working-class suburbs, though rarely in elite places. This chapter suggests that the architecture curriculum should emphasize the socio-political relations that make Latinx-built spaces colonial, racialized, migrant, disenfranchised, and politically resistant formations and practices to better understand how to serve this population. The chapter concludes by offering ideas for how the discipline of architecture can integrate Latinx people and spaces in the classroom and thus come closer to decentering whiteness in the curriculum.
