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. Currently, her research examines the rapid rise of luxury vertical residential developments in San José, Costa Rica. 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. Actualmente, su investigación examina el rápido auge de los desarrollos residenciales verticales de lujo en San José, Costa Rica. 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; Urban Extractivism

Ecología Política Urbana; Urbanización en Latinoamérica; Extractivismo Urbano

Education

B.A. International Studies, American University School of International Service, Washington, D.C. (2021)

  • concentrations in Environmental Sustainability, Peace & Conflict Resolution, and Arabic

Grants

  • Tinker Foundation Fellowship, UIUC Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies (2026)
  • Schlesinger Travel Grant, UIUC School of Earth Society, & Environment (SESE) (2026)
  • Student Travel Grant, Conference of Latin American Geography (CLAG) (2026)
  • Field Study Award, Conference of Latin American Geography (CLAG) (2025)
  • Whitten Fellowship, UIUC Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies (2025)
  • Graduate College Fellowship, Geography & GIS, UIUC (2024 - present)

Awards and Honors

  • Excellence in Regional Studies Award: Western Hemisphere, American University School of International Service (2020)
  • National Gold Medalist, Writing Portfolio, Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (2018)

Courses Taught

Teaching Assistant: 

  • GGIS 210: Social & Environmental Issues (Fall 2026)