The Afro-Indigenous communities in the Mexican region of Costa Chica face multiple exclusions from the urbanising world and from traditional Urban Studies. As targets of past and current colonial practices, the people in this small cluster of remote cities live in contexts of structural abandonment characterised by pervasive inequality, poor infrastructure, food insecurity, political corruption, and racism. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified this marginalisation in academia and beyond.
The Coastal Commons project aims to bridge this historical gap by placing collaboration and participation as the backbone of its approach. Led by Dr Ulises Moreno-Tabarez and funded by the Urban Studies Foundation, it will comprise three sets of interrelated activities: virtual seminars, participatory video, and training discussion groups. The virtual seminars consist of knowledge-exchange events covering the most pressing issues for the people in Costa Chica. Held in collaboration with feminist Afro-Indigenous organisations, the events will be translated to Spanish and three Indigenous local languages (Amuzgo, Tlapaneco, and Mixteca).
The participatory video will document small and remote cities in the region focusing on the themes discussed in the seminars. It aims to register the methods, processes, and local impact of the virtual discussions. The third and final element of this project will consist in monthly virtual training seminars to cover the key principles, challenges, and ethics of using participatory video methods. Most importantly, these workshops will provide a unique perspective on conducting research and teaching with feminist and antiracist principles.
Such a wide and interdisciplinary scope of activities aims to produce equally plural and comprehensive objectives. First, Coastal Commons seeks to expand the notion of participatory methods beyond its technical merits and underscore a paradigm shift necessary in a response to the pandemic. Secondly, by recording and translating the events and workshops, the project aims to generate knowledge production and exchange beyond its duration and initial target audience. Lastly, the core and overarching goal of Coastal Commons is to situate small remote cities at the centre of urban knowledge-production, raising awareness to the challenges faced by Mexican Afro-Indigenous groups while highlighting their unique cultural and political contributions.
Banner image by Ulises Moreno-Tabarez, © 2021