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Catalina Freixas



Catalina Freixas has taught in the Sam Fox School since 2004. She is engaged in urban humanities research and practice, with a focus on neighborhood resiliency. Freixas seeks to use wraparound theory as the intellectual framework to treat neighborhood problems in a comprehensive fashion, while also intimately involving community residents and stakeholders. Her ultimate research objective is to use her current neighborhood project as the first step in developing an interventionist methodology that can be effectively employed elsewhere. Freixas’ ongoing research attempts to identify characteristics of resilience as integrated processes and systems. Her long-term objective is to use this research to generate quantitative eco-urbanism strategies that can be utilized to promote resilient communities in a wide range of urban settings. She is currently working with St. Louis Association of Community Organizations, St. Louis Public Schools, and the Urban League to undertake a pilot project in the KingsVille community, a highly distressed area in North St. Louis. Freixas’ previous research sought to better understand the causes and consequences of urban racial residential segregation as well as to generate new mitigation strategies. This project led to “Segregation by Design: Conversations and Calls for Action in St. Louis.” Her work has been supported by grants from The Divided City Initiative and InCEES. She has shared her research widely at national and international conferences and in peer-reviewed papers and publications. Freixas weaves her approach to resilient design into her studios and seminars which has had a significant impact on students in our undergraduate and graduate programs.

Publications & Research by Catalina Freixas

Segregation by Design discusses racial segregation in American cities. Using St. Louis as a point of departure, it examines the causes and consequences of residential segregation, and proposes potential mitigation strategies. While an introduction, timeline, and historical overview frame the subject, nine topic-specific conversations—between invited academics, policy makers, and urban professionals—provide the main structure. Each of these conversations is contextualized by a photograph, an editors’ note, and an essay written by a respected current or former St. Louisan. The essayists respond to the conversations by speaking to the impacts of segregation and by suggesting innovative policy and design tactics from their professional or academic perspective. The purpose of the book, therefore, is not to provide original research on residential segregation, but rather to offer a unique collection of insightful, transdisciplinary reflections on the experience of segregation in America and how it might be addressed.

Publication Details
Segregation by Design: Conversations and Calls for Action in St. Louis
Editors: Catalina Freixas and Mark Abbott
Springer, 2019
621 Pages
ISBN 9783319729558

Course-Related Publications

Segregation By Design [4.0]: A Historical Analysis of the Impact of Planning and Policy in St. Louis (October 2019)

Authors: Catalina Freixas and Mark Abbott

2019 Teaching Assistant and Assistant Editor: Cierra Higgins, MArch/MUD

Contributors: Celine Grisham, Catherine Hunley, Nakesha Newsome, Matthew Lum, Kia Saint-Louis, Sophie Scott, and Lingyue Wang

Inclusion & Neighborhood Resilience [STLMO]: Designing for Equity in Post-Industrial Cities (January 2019)

Author: Catalina Freixas

Editors: Larissa Sattler and Erin Socha

Contributors: Historical Research: Megan Folkmann, Molly Meyer, and Larissa Sattler. Urban Analysis: Sofia Aguirre, Rachel Bennett, Megan Folkmann, Molly Meyer, Larissa Sattler, Erin Socha, and Haokun Wang. Site Model: Carmen Chee, Dylan Draves, Kyle Kapaun, and Mason Radford

Segregation by Design [3.0]: A Historical Analysis of the Impact of Planning and Policy in St. Louis (October 2018)

Authors: Catalina Freixas and Mark Abbott

Teaching Assistant Editor: Danielle Bagwin

Contributors: Anton Beer, Mesha Bisarya, Maddie Farrer, Michael Ge, Noah Treviño, Ali White, Alexandra Green, Joshua Milligan, and Lynette Riley

Segregation By Design [2.0]: A Historical Analysis of the Impact of Planning and Policy in St. Louis (2016)

Authors: Catalina Freixas and Mark Abbott

Teaching Assistant Editor: Danielle Bagwin

Contributors: Nicholas Gori, Kathryn Karl, and Tianna Williams

Segregation By Design: A Historical Analysis of the Impact of Planning and Policy in St. Louis (2016)

Faculty: Catalina Freixas and Mark Abbott

Teaching Assistant Editor: Maeve Elder

Contributors: Percy Avalos, Danielle Bagwin, Ashlee Cooksey, Christine Doherty, Lyle Hansen, Hallie Nolan, Julia Phillips, Kaety Prentice, Shelbey Sill, Nicolas Smith, Jordan Thompson, Ryan Wilson, Yong Yuan. Harris-Stowe State University students: Edward Alexander, Niesha Clark, Iana Newton, Phill Owens, Tiabi Gill, Feven Girmay, Kiara Boykin, Craig Davila, and Montez Miles

Inclusion & Neighborhood Resilience: Designing for Equity in Post Industrial Cities (2016)

Faculty: Catalina Freixas

Contributors: Daniel Aguilera, Lindsley Etienne, Suzannah Grasel, Savannah Hecker, Amanda Malone, and Xinzhi Pan