Adriana Zuniga-Teran

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Thank you for visiting my website!

Welcome! ¡Bienvenid@! 

My intention here is to give you an overview of who I am and the kind of work that I do. I hope you find it interesting.

I am an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment at the School of Geography, Development, and Environment and the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona. My background is in architecture and environmental sciences with a focus on arid lands and global change. I obtained my Ph.D. in Arid Lands Resource Sciences with a minor in Global Change and an MS in Architecture with a concentration in Design and Energy Conservation from the University of Arizona. I completed a BA in Architecture from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Monterrey, Mexico.

Broadly speaking, my research lies at the intersection of urban sustainability, and environmental governance, with a focus on urban infrastructure in the Arizona-Sonora border region (from Tucson, Arizona to Ambos Nogales and Hermosillo, Mexico). My work interrogates the transformations of urban infrastructure toward the adoption of nature-based solutions (or green infrastructure), and how these transformations may replicate and reinforce power structures. I study public engagement as the basis for more equitable environmental governance. Through community-based empirical work, my work advances our understanding of the procedural aspects of urban greening that may result in environmental injustice. I work across disciplines with the ability to highlight key differences and opportunities for mutual improvement and find ways to translate theory into practice to advance sustainability and justice.

My research extends to my service/outreach and teaching activities synergistically, as I involve my students in research projects and outreach efforts, and through my projects and teaching I aim to provide more equitable opportunities for minority students and disadvantaged groups. On this website, I hope you find representative examples of my research projects, my engagement with local communities, and my teaching and mentoring of students.

Land Acknowledgement

I respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples. Today, Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes, with Tucson being home to the O’odham and the Yaqui Nations. Committed to diversity and inclusion, the University strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships, and community service.