The goal is to explore community stories and relationships to place in a predominately non-white/immigrant neighborhood(s) in Southwest Denver in connection with the neighborhood’s broader human-environmental geographies. The intern will use community-engaged, qualitative methods (e.g., interview, photography, or videography) to collect stories from residents and community organizations, potentially including: neighborhood history, what the neighborhood means to them, significant neighborhood spaces or places, how those spaces have changed over time, major challenges and opportunities for residents, and dreams for the future of the neighborhood and the communities that live there. The intern will investigate ties between community stories and racialized spatial processes in Denver (e.g., redlining and environmental racism) that have shaped the neighborhood and its communities, as well as efforts among BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and immigrant communities to make place, claim urban spaces, and bring about a more just world. This participatory project will require working with community members to shape the research direction, including identification of participants and community organizations, important neighborhood locations, and the human-environmental geographic issues most impactful in residents’ daily lives.
