The colonias reader : economy, housing, and public health in U.S.-Mexico border colonias /

Colonia (neighborhood) is the denomination given to thousands of settlements that dot the US-Mexico border from California to Texas. Born out of unregulated suburban subdivisions in the 1960s, they house an undetermined number of people, but estimates mention an approximate figure of one million-plus individuals, with Texas having the largest number of colonias. The majority of the residents are Latinos, mostly Mexicans and Mexican Americans, but diversity characterizes colonias, which include transborder workers, temporary laborers, former and actual farm workers who are American citizens, and undocumented immigrants. This reader contains 16 chapters that eloquently detail the history, economic conditions, and advocacy of residents and activists in their efforts to transform the living standards of the colonias. From their inception colonias have been plagued by inadequate or nonexistent infrastructure, substandard housing, inadequate services, and scant amenities. Residents are ravaged by poverty, unemployment, environmental decay, and hosts of related health afflictions. The contributors to this timely collection employ a proactive approach and do more than produce an academic report. Their intent is to advance research with a transformative practice of social justice that involves residents, activists, nongovernmental agencies, and federal and state institutions. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. M. S. Arbelaez University of Nebraska at Omaha