IN-PERSON Barcelona Livable Cities. Section B

Abstract

The social diversity of Lake Tahoe, California, is lost beneath narratives of natural beauty and tourism. These narratives permeate both popular imaginations of the place as well as environmental planning and advocacy, such that the ecological health of the basin is captured by the simple motto: “Keep Tahoe Blue.” Unfortunately, this focus on aesthetics in ecological and planning policy has exacerbated inequality and gentrification in the Tahoe Basin (Checker, 2011; Immergluck & Balan 2018). In public discourses about sustainability, little consideration is given to the experiences and perspectives of year-round residents, mostly migrants, who support tourism, or to the places of significance to these communities. This is especially true of the Spanish speakers who account for approximately 40% of South Lake Tahoe’s population but who remain invisible to visitors and to planners alike (Martinez-Curiel, 2016) (Valle, 2011). Mostly hailing from Jalisco province in Mexico, these community members carry rich cultural histories and knowledge of walkable, sustainable communities that are missing from any future imaginations of Lake Tahoe. This project uses the motto “Keep Tahoe Latino” as a provocation to advocate for culturally-inclusive planning in Lake Tahoe and in other cities where the invisibility of a working class is a detriment to social well-being, and to the sustainability of the place as a whole. Through participant observation, interviews, mapping, and visual representations, the project elevates missing perspectives and visibilizes roles and places around Lake Tahoe. It also imagines future planning scenarios and embraces the place-making that is made possible through cultural inclusion.