Research
Research
My research focuses on how climate change affects vulnerable populations, emphasizing connections between urban and environmental planning and public policy, particularly heritage impact evaluation, climate adaptation, and natural hazard mitigation. My research experience converges at the intersection of strategic planning, environmental conservation, and consumer behavior, particularly in the context of Natural Protected Areas.
My academic journey has been complemented by hands-on research experiences. During my time in Mexico, I studied more about the metropolitan development in Mexico City and investigated one of the most pressing ecosystem concerns in the area: air pollution. I studied the urban growth of the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City and its impact on Climate Change, to offer an urban policy with principles of environmental sustainability that allow economic development.
I am enthusiastic about the prospect of contributing to the vital research community, and I am eager to embrace the challenges and opportunities that any project presents. I am also confident that the interdisciplinary approach and resources offered will nurture scientific research.
Analysis of the behavior of the cultural and other recreational services sector in Mexico, 2013-2018. (2022). Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Art, Design and Culture, No. 7, pp. 53–73. Certificate of Reservation of Rights to Exclusive Use number 04-2022-031613532400-102; ISSN 2992-7552, with Salgado Vega, M. C.
Climate change: sustainable transportation in the metropolitan area of Toluca. (2022). Journal of the Graduate and Research Center. Technological Institute of Merida, Vol 37, Number. 95, pp. 62-69, with Rivera Becerril, R.D.
Analysis of the geographic location of the construction and energy industries in Mexico, 2014. (2021). In: Caamal Cauich, I. Ascencio Verna, F.G., Pat Fernández, G. (Coords.)(2021); International Seminar on Economics and Development: Problems of Economic Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, Autonomous University of Chapingo, UAEMEX, research and service center in agricultural economics and trade. Chapingo, State of Mexico, pp. 132-141, with Salgado Vega, M. C.
Protected natural areas: strategy for adaptation to climate change, State of Mexico. (2021). Journal of the Graduate and Research Center. Technological Institute of Merida, Vol 36 No. 90, pp. 140-147, with Salgado Vega, M. C.
Climate change and human migration in Mexico facing 2020: a dissertation on the problem. (2020). Journal of the Graduate and Research Center. Technological Institute of Merida, Vol. 35 Number 86 ISSN 0185-6294, pp.176-184, with Salgado Vega, M. C.
Urban spaces and climate change worldwide: A dissertation on the problem. (2023). In: Perez, A. and Rogel, I. (Coords). The Environmental Crossroads: Approaches and experiences in the future of the territories. (2023). Human ecology. 2. Sociology - Environmental aspects I. Pérez Ramírez, C. A., coordinator. II. Rogel Fajardo, I., coordinator. II. Series. ISBN UAEMEX 978-607-633-659-5. ISBN ECC 978-607-59749-7-2 UAMEX- scientific community, pp 129-148, with Salgado, M.C.
Analysis of the Mexico-Central America Free Trade Agreement using a gravitational model. (2022). In: Wong González, Rózga P., Ryszard E. [Coords.] (2022). Applied studies on global analysis and use of the territory for productive innovation. UNAM-AMECIDER, Mexico, ISBN UNAM 978-607-30-6963-2, AMECIDER 978-607-8632-32-9, pp. 35-46, with Busto Ibarra, K.
Sustainable strategy in the protected natural areas of the State of Mexico for adaptation to climate change in the face of 2021. (2021). In: Martínez Pellegrini, S. E., Sarmiento Franco, J. F. and Valles Aragón M. C. (Coords.) (2021); Theoretical-methodological approaches for territorial analysis and sustainable regional development. (Vol. I). Edit. National Autonomous University of Mexico, Institute of Economic Research and Mexican Association of Sciences for Regional Development. (Collection: Transformative recovery of territories with equity and sustainability), Mexico City. ISBN of the volume: UNAM 978-607-30-5332-7, AMECIDER 978-607-8632-18-3, pp. 341-358, with Salgado Vega, M. C.
This research explored sustainable strategies for promoting eco-friendly practices through the integration of socioeconomic, spatial, and environmental data to better understand consumer behavior toward Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) in Mexico. The project addressed the lack of coordinated branding and marketing strategies for conservation areas while proposing a national identity framework to strengthen ecotourism, support local economies, and promote products and services through digital platforms and online communities. The research contributes to conservation policy, sustainable regional development, and environmental communication, and was presented at the Pangea Conference at the University of Texas in San Marcos, Texas, in February 2025.
This research develops a spatial econometric model using global natural disaster data to analyze patterns of spatial association, concentration, and autocorrelation related to climate change vulnerability. Through the integration of comparative spatial indicators, the project seeks to identify regions most susceptible to climate-related hazards and environmental risks. The study contributes to resilience planning, disaster mitigation, and risk-informed policy development at multiple geographic scales.
Many public spaces face environmental, social, and institutional challenges that reduce biodiversity, limit social interaction, and diminish quality of life. This research investigates the environmental, economic, social, and governance factors that shape the quality and sustainability of public spaces through statistical and econometric analysis. The project aims to advance more inclusive, resilient, and ecologically responsive urban environments by exploring the relationships between planning decisions, environmental conditions, and social well-being.
This study examines how Mexico’s Pueblos Mágicos program has transformed heritage into a central driver of tourism-based development while generating tensions between cultural identity, territorial preservation, and economic growth. Drawing from Socio-Cultural Impact Assessment (SCIA), Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), and critical planning theory, the research analyzes how tourism expansion and town branding can produce uneven economic benefits, cultural commodification, and symbolic displacement. The project argues that heritage should be understood not solely as an economic asset, but as a living system of memory, identity, and community relations.
This paper investigates how fragmented building code adoption in coastal Texas contributes to climate vulnerability and the “levee effect,” where structural protection measures create a false sense of security that encourages development in hazard-prone areas. Using spatial diffusion theory, policy adoption analysis, and wind-impact modeling, the study examines how uneven enforcement of building codes shapes patterns of resilience and exposure to climate-driven wind hazards across jurisdictions. The project contributes to broader discussions on disaster mitigation, governance, and climate adaptation policy.
This research examines how cultural identity functions simultaneously as communal ritual, spatial belonging, and branded cultural asset in San Antonio. Focusing on Día de los Muertos, the study explores how marginalized communities sustain cultural traditions and collective memory while those same practices are commodified through tourism and city branding. Through oral histories, situated observation, and interpretive analysis, the project investigates how cultural heritage can simultaneously generate resilience, visibility, exclusion, and economic extraction within urban development processes.
This theoretical paper critically examines sustainability as a dominant planning paradigm, arguing that its institutionalization often obscures socio-spatial inequalities and power asymmetries behind consensus-driven environmental discourse. Focusing on Natural Protected Areas (NPAs), the research investigates how conservation policies may reproduce exclusionary planning practices that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. Drawing from ecological economics, planning theory, and Global South critiques of development, the project advances an interrelational socio-ecological approach centered on interdependence, uncertainty, and the political dimensions of environmental management.