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School of Earth, Society & Environment Department of Geography & Geographic Information Science

Vicky Brown Varela

Advisors: Dr. Nikolai Alvarado & Dr. David Wilson

Biography

Vicky is a Costa Rican-South Carolinian writer and researcher. Her research aims to unravel the spatial and political underpinnings of urban dispossession and ecological degradation in Costa Rica, challenging the country's green narrative. Currently, her research aims to understand urban development in San José, Costa Rica, as a project of urban-real estate extractivism. With a rich background living and working in diverse global landscapes, from Ramallah (رام الله), Palestine to Buenos Aires, Argentina, Vicky's interests are rooted in community-driven place-making and collaborative practices as forms of resistance and reclamation of urban spaces. Her work seeks to articulate how urban citizenship and state-capital relations are reshaped within these contested and fragmented environments. Bilingual in Spanish and English, Vicky is also conversational in Arabic (Levantine) and French. 

Vicky es una escritora e investigadora costarricense-surcarolinense. Su investigación está motivada por un compromiso de desentrañar los fundamentos espaciales y políticos del despojo urbano y la degradación ecológica en Costa Rica, desafiando la narrativa verde del país. Actualmente, su trabajo se centra en comprender el desarrollo urbano en San José, Costa Rica, como un proyecto de extractivismo urbano-inmobiliario. Con un rico trasfondo viviendo y trabajando en diversos contextos globales, desde Ramallah, Palestina hasta Buenos Aires, Argentina, los intereses de Vicky están arraigados en las prácticas de creación de lugares y colaboración impulsadas por la comunidad como formas de resistencia y reclamación de espacios urbanos. Su trabajo busca articular cómo la ciudadanía urbana y las relaciones estado-capital se reconfiguran dentro de estos entornos disputados y fragmentados. Bilingüe en español e inglés, Vicky también tiene un nivel conversacional en árabe (levantino) y en francés.

Research Interests

Urban Political Ecology; Urbanization in Latin America; Extractivism; Environmental Justice

Ecología Política Urbana; Urbanización en Latinoamérica; Extractivismo; Justicia Ambiental

Education

B.A. International Studies (Environmental Sustainability; Peace & Conflict Resolution; Arabic), American University School of International Service, Washington, D.C. (2021)

Grants

Conference of Latin American Geography (CLAG) Field Study Award (2025)

UIUC Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies Whitten Fellowship (2025)

Awards and Honors

Graduate College PhD Fellowship, Geography & GIS, UIUC (2024)

Excellence in Regional Studies Award: Western Hemisphere, American University School of International Service (2020)

National Gold Medalist, Writing Portfolio, Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (2018)

Additional Campus Affiliations

Latin American and Caribbean Cities Collective

Unit for Criticism & Interpretive Theory

School of Earth, Society & Environment Department of Geography & Geographic Information Science

Natural History Building, Second Floor

1301 W. Green St., MC-150

Urbana, IL 61801

(217) 333-1880

Email: geography@illinois.edu

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