What drew you towards your field and work?
I am a First-generation Latina scholar. My life experiences as a Mexican woman raised in a consolidated informal settlement in Mexico City inspired me to reveal the contribution of these communities to more sustainable and just cities. I have worked as a professional engineer in Mexico City, and now, as an academic in Texas, which has given me a global perspective on urban planning issues. Through my extensive field research as a professional engineer in Mexico City and, now, academic in Texas, I gained a global perspective of urban planning issues and appreciation for the harmful impact misguided planning has on low-income people's lives. This solidified, for me, the importance of pursuing participatory research with low-income communities to envision sustainable alternative futures . My research provides a new perspective for the analysis of informality, climate justice, and sustainability. By examining the intersections of informal housing, transportation, and urban sustainability, I seek to integrate three domains of urban planning research that have typically been studied separately. My research sheds light on the efficient, just, and sustainable ways in which people in informal settlements use resources for self-help consolidation and other adaptations to precarity throughout their daily lives. I have used Global South perspectives and my lived experiences to develop research proposals in the US. My current research in informal settlements in North Texas expands on past informality literature in the US by examining a former Freedmen's town beyond the US-Mexico borderlands. By uncovering informality in Freedmen's towns in North Texas, my research reveals the significance of informal settlements as a widespread phenomenon throughout the US that requires careful attention from planners and policymakers.

What is a challenge that you encountered in your teaching academic career and how have you
addressed it?
I am a passionate teacher of urban planning. My motivation to teach comes from recognizing the importance of empowering a new generation of leaders, thinkers, and activists hoping to create healthier cities, support climate justice movements and improve the living conditions of underprivileged communities. In my teaching evaluations, students have expressed gratitude for my enthusiasm for empowering students' participation and engagement. My planning classes examine factors exacerbating
structural issues, including racial segregation and economic inequality. This critical exploration of planning theory is a reference for a more comprehensive understanding of planning areas, including environmental sustainability and housing and transportation equity. In these classes, some students have developed the theoretical portion of their professional reports, theses, or dissertation proposals. As one student stated, "I thought that the topics Dr. Reyes chose to cover in class were incredibly insightful and important in planning and really furthered my knowledge in the field and provoked deeper thinking." I also include readings on international planning to help students understand global planning issues, including environmental injustice in informal communities. As one student stated in their evaluation, "Ariadna brought in relevant examples of planning theory from the Global South. This pushed us to think outside the box of Western understandings of planning theory. " However, despite my students' positive feedback and appreciation for my teaching, I have also faced challenging situations that international female scholars of color experience. For instance, some students have complained about my Spanish accent. This is something that I would not change. On the contrary, it makes me feel proud of my origins and ethnicity. Other students have complained about the critical nature of the readings and lectures highlighting the implications of racial and income segregation in US cities and beyond. To overcome these challenges, I highlight upfront that my life experiences as a Latina/Latin American scholar from a low-income background has shaped my research, teaching, and service activities. I invite all the students to recognize their research positionalities and encourage them to respectfully embrace other perspectives. The classroom should be a safe place for meaningful debates that help us envision solutions that draw from different perspectives.

What advice do you have for graduate students in your field?
I was fortunate to receive fellowships that supported my work as a doctoral student. I am a proud former Fulbright-Garcia Robles and Mexico’s CONACYT fellow. These scholarships allowed me to focus on my postgraduate studies and develop a research project on informality, sustainability, and climate justice in Latin America. I encourage graduate students to pursue research they are passionate about. It is essential to do something you love doing. Academia gives us a unique opportunity to conduct
meaningful research for and with our communities. I also recommend actively applying for scholarships and funding opportunities. Apply for all the opportunities that academia offers. This will help students get the necessary resources to thrive in a competitive academic world. For instance, the Crossing Latinidades grant has provided financial support for me to work closely with outstanding UIC and UCI faculty and doctoral students. This grant allowed me to continue working with Josh Newton, who was also awarded the Crossing Latinidades doctoral and research fellowship. Our collaboration is exemplary
of productive research between a junior planning scholar and a doctoral fellow. We are conducting participatory action research in low-income communities of color in North Texas, co-authoring peer-reviewed articles, and actively presenting research at academic conferences. Working with faculty helps students learn methodologies, apply research and learn the grant writing process. I learned this through my own research experience learning participatory action research in the informal community of Los Platanitos in the Dominican Republic in 2015 with my former advisor. Other crucial areas for graduate
students are teaching and service. It is important to gain teaching experience and engage in service and leadership positions in their disciplines that allow them to build strong networks with scholars. More importantly, please take care of yourself and try to balance work and happiness! What aspect of teaching do you find most rewarding? As a first-generation scholar, one of the most rewarding experiences is to help all students, particularly vulnerable social groups, to pursue professional or academic careers inspired by social justice. As one student stated, "I hope to use the knowledge I acquired from her course on sustainable communities in my future career and everyday life." For instance, most students that identify as Latino/a/x develop
research projects on sustainable upgrading of housing in low-income communities in Texas, Mexico, and the Global South. The experience of investigating energy and water challenges faced by low-income communities of color is transformative for future designers and planners committed to environmental justice and sustainability. I also enjoy working with my students as my research partners. Students often contribute to my research and fieldwork. Their class projects reveal how air pollution, fracking facilities, and other environmental injustices affect low-income communities of color across the globe.

What projects are you working on at this moment?
I am currently working with Josh Newtons, a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Arlington in the project, Climate and Environmental Justice Crossing Latinidades. This research will develop a national understanding of the vulnerabilities of low-income Latino/a communities in California, Illinois, and Texas to climate injustices while illuminating their strengths and resilience capacities in adapting to extreme climate events and environmental hazards. Through this grant, we will further develop our research on climate justice and informal settlements, including a former Freedmen's town, using humanistic and ethnographic approaches such as oral histories, photovoice, and participatory mapping. We are working closely with low-income African American residents and Latinx migrants, leaders, and activists to not only receive feedback on collected data but also contribute to what leaders and partners on the ground are already doing to improve access to clean water.