UNEARTHED URBANITIES:
Wayne Evans Holness Bachelor of Architecture - May 2025
African Diaspora Contributions to Urbanism in Latin America “It is often said that culture is the sum total of the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves. Whilst it is true, what is missing in the statement is any acknowledgement of who the ‘we’ in question is. In architecture particularly, the dominant voice has historically been a singular, exclusive voice, whose reach and power ignores huge swathes of humanity — financially, creatively, conceptually — as though we have been listening and speaking in one tongue only. The ‘story’ of architecture is therefore incomplete. Not wrong, but incomplete.” - Lesley Lokko, Venice Biennale 2023 Introduction
Introduction
For over 400 years, millions of Africans were forcibly displaced acros the Atlantic by European colonial powers. Port cities became lucrative economic hubs, with black labor essential to colonial expansion and urban development². After gaining independence in the 19th century, these nations experienced new waves of black migration. Afro-Caribbean immigrants sought new employment opportunities, further contributing to economic, cultural and urban development during the 19th and 20th centuries. Despite centuries of contributions, political agendas have worked to write black people out of their nations’ stories. Racist policies, systemic defunding, and urban violence threatened, deteriorated, and obliterated black settlements throughout Latin America¹. In spite of relentless violence and displacement, populations of the diaspora resisted oppression and formed spatial and cultural resilience in the process. Today, these communities are facing growingly urgent threats to their survival, as rapid development, urbanization, modernization, and climate change slowly erase their histories and legacies.
Research Questions
How have Afro-Latin communities shaped urban environments through architecture, spatial practices, and cultural preservation? How have government policies and urban planning tools either sustained or erased Afro-diasporic spaces? How can these models of spatial resistance inform contemporary urban resilience in the face of climate change and forced displacement?
Proposal
I propose to study African Diaspora contributions to Latin American architecture and urban development. This research will document and recognize the spatial influence of Afro-descendant populations in a region where their existance and impact is often overlooked. It will also provide insights into political, cultural, and environmental resilience strategies that remain increasingly necessary as cities face rapid development, displacement, climatic threats, and erasure in the 21st century. I will visit cities and towns with prominent afro-descendant history in Brazil, Colombia, Panamá, and Costa Rica, examining how black communities have
shaped their urban contexts. Cultural identity aspects such as religion, food, recreation, music, and memory will serve as spatial anchors for the impact of black populations on their respective urban fabrics. They will also serve to map where and how black urban life has evolved or been disrupted over time. By studying colonial and postcolonial urban contributions through a modern lens, this research will contextualize the architectural and spatial legacies of the African diaspora in Latin America within broader historical, social, political, and economic forces. In order to construct a comprehensive spatial narrative, this study will integrate qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Archival research and collection, including deeds, maps, and existing photographs, will provide insights into the historical foundations of urban centers and neighborhoods. This will be paired with site documentation through photographs, sketches, and videos to compare past and present conditions, revealing patterns of development, preservation, displacement, and erasure. Additionally, conversations with local designers, artisans, and local grassroots organizations will uncover overlooked oral histories and firsthand perspectives of modern black placemaking, spatial resistance, and ongoing threats of erasure. Together, these methodologies will collectively illustrate a layered, multi-scalar account of diasporic contributions within their urban fabrics over time⁴. This research prioritizes documenting and analyzing diasporic resistance and resilience across different urban scales. For example, studying urban occupations in metropolises such as Sãu Paulo alongside smaller towns like Limón help create a more holistic understanding of black communities have navigated displacement and adaptation under different geographical, political and economic contexts. Additionally, Rio de Janeiro, with its colonial past as a major slave port, tells a different urban development story than Panama City, which saw two waves of diasporic development: colonial enslaved workers and post-independence Afro-Antillean migrants⁵. Comparing a range of urban response sizes and types creates a more nuanced understanding of the application of resistant and resilient spatial strategies. One case study of diaspora contributions is the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé, which illustrates how black spatial traditions have persisted despite repression. Terreiros, places of worship originally formed within port cities, were forcibly relocated due to persecution by the Catholic Church¹. This pattern of forced displacement, seen in the creation of autonomous settlements like quilombos in Brazil and palenques in Colombia, demonstrates how black communities have used space as a tool for resistance and cultural continuity. Even as black populations reintegrated into urban centers postindependence, they faced ongoing segregation, violence, and erasure¹. These struggles persist today; Salvador’s historically black Gamboa de Baixo neighborhood is being encroached on by luxury coastal developments, continuing an unfortunate legacy of urban exclusion and displacement³.
Impact
During my time in the School of Architecture, I gained exposure to critical perspectives that shaped my understanding of spatial justice. I have personal connections to Limón, the Costa Rican stop on the proposed itinerary. Hearing from relatives and seeing cultural and spatial erasure taking place firsthand inspired my commitment to this work. Additionally, taking courses offered by Professors Morgado, Schaffer, Barrie and Protz have highlighted the importance of acknowledging and critically engaging with architectural contributions by marginalized and underrepresented communities, and given me tools to work toward honoring those contributions in a meaningful way. This research will benefit NCSU and the greater architecture community by expanding the canonical knowledge base of the profession. Historically, architecture canon has prized the modern contributions of singular icons such as Le Corbusier, Van Der Rohe, and Wright, while largely overlooking the contributions of marginalized communities. Even among the increasingly recognized Latin American canon, afro-descendant contributions are virtually absent. Although recognitions of diverse historical contexts have begun, it is important to expand the canon and add to the collective memory of the profession by including forgotten names and community contributions. During my travels, I will share written entries, sketches, and photographs to a blog. Upon my return, I will compile my findings into a multimedia website, combining interactive urban maps with collaged archival materials, photogrammetry, animated diagrams, and audio conversation recordings where possible. My aim is to create an engaging tool to educate the NCSU community and the general public on the role afro-descendant populations have played in the development of Latin American urbanism. I also aim to contribute to the growing discussion about how we might learn from these insights to design more equitable and resilient spaces. This opportunity will further develop my design philosophy and inform my future career contributions to continued diasporic placemaking in Latin America. This research aims to unearth selectively forgotten histories and expand imagined futures. By studying Afro-diasporic contributions to Latin American urbanism, I will explore strategies of spatial resistance, sociopolitical agency, and climatic resilience that can inform contemporary approaches to architectural and urban design. I hope to contribute to efforts ensuring black communities are not only preserved, but actively included and celebrated in the design of more equitable and spatially just urban societies. Sources 1. Achile Mbembe. Necropolitics. 2019. 2. Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra, et al. The Black Urban Atlantic in the Age of the Slave Trade. 2013. 3. Keisha-Khan Perry. Black Women Against the Land Grab: The Fight for Racial Justce in Brazil. 2013. 4. Mabel O. Wilson, et al. Racial Evidence. 2017. 5. Afro-Panamanians in Panama. Minority Rights Group. 2023.