Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography & Earth Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
About
Dr. Michelle Zuniga is an urban and community planner whose research focuses on resident perspectives of neighborhood change occurring in areas undergoing increased investment towards sustainable urban development. She is most interested in learning how low-income communities and communities of color experience the benefits and disruptions of neighborhood change and their implications for environmental, social, and economic justice and equity in the planning process. She employs qualitative methods to elevate resident's stories of neighborhood transformation that often shed light on the underlying tensions of race and class as communities historically divested, undergo increased investment.
Current Work:
In Dr. Zuniga's own words,
"My work focuses on perspectives of neighborhood change in predominately Latinx communities. I concentrate on how residents make sense and experience the changes occurring around them in the wake of increased investment in their communities. I also examine the variation in how residents choose to respond given their experiences, but also given the resources at hand and political networks they are embedded in. Additionally, my work also focuses on environmental justice policy. I examine how local California jurisdictions implement environmental justice considerations in their general plans and how they implement policies in practice to guide future development and mitigate environmental injustice. Furthermore, my work concentrates on the development planning process, examining California's Sunshine Ordinance which calls for developers to include residents early on in the planning process to influence the outcome of development projects. I review the challenges and benefits of this policy"
Research Area Keyword(s):
neighborhood change, environmental justice, urban governance, public policy
