Texas A&M University College of Architecture

Within water equity, Texas A&M’s College of Architecture is making strides in enhancing the quality of life for residents living in colonias and other economically distressed areas of Texas. Colonias are informal, typically lower-income communities on the Texas and Mexico border that often lack access to major infrastructure, such as potable water, paved roads, sewage systems, storm drainage systems, and electricity. The Texas A&M University Colonias program has 42 resource centers across the Rio Grande Region that bring a number of social programs to residents. These include educational initiatives, GED classes, job trainings, health services, and other capacity building services.

In addition, the TAMU Colonias Program runs a Water Project that is dedicated to the production, distribution, and research of affordable ceramic water filters for colonia residents. These filters are a low-tech solution to the problem of unsafe and unclean drinking water.

TAMU is also bringing attention to the widespread and devastating flooding events that Sunnyside, a neighborhood in Houston, experiences far too often. In addition, the neighborhood is located within one mile of three large hazardous waste producers and two major sources of air pollution. As 40 percent of the residents live in poverty, the issue is a severe case of environmental injustice, which a group of students is working to ameliorate.

Texas A&M’s High Impact: Education First program granted landscape architecture and urban planning, construction science, and visualization $25,000 to learn about these chronic environmental programs, engage in a range of interdisciplinary courses, and then apply the theory and skills learned to developing solutions to the neighborhood’s problems.

The project will culminate in a master plan that includes an analysis of existing conditions and suggestions for infrastructure improvements to make the neighborhood more resilient to impacts from disasters.