By Henry Lear, Remote Summer Program 2020
In February of 2020, I was beyond excited to live and work entirely in Spanish in Buenos Aires. Though lucky enough to have had a few experiences speaking the language here in the U.S. and briefly abroad, I had never been able to truly dive into an environment profoundly different from my own. When we left campus and everything was thrown into the air, I worried that any slice of that experience I was fascinated by would be impossible given the situation. The chance to learn professional skills and work on important issues with new colleagues was a deeply intriguing prospect, and if not for the work of the talented and determined DRCLAS staff, I would have been left hanging without summer plans or a way to interact more deeply with impactful work. The Remote Summer Program, put together on the fly yet executed incredibly well, was more than just a virtual learning experience — it was a bright spot in a time that was trying for lots of us, students and staff alike.
Many mornings, I was able to sit in on the Argentinian institutional response to Buenos Aires informal neighborhoods’ coronavirus challenges and have conversations with housing leaders in the city. However, the project that drew my main focus was an analysis of democratic housing development and the connection of informal settlements with the larger city. Finding examples of pushback yet cooperation and hesitation yet enthusiastic adoption, a nuanced picture of affordable housing and an inclusive city was drawn before me, albeit from a virtual platform. I created a report alongside an incredible colleague, María Luján Luna, examining the role of the institution I interned for, the Buenos Aires City Housing Institute, in letting citizens decide the design of their neighborhoods. Using a Harvard professor’s philosophy, we took into account the openness and accessibility of the development processes used in different neighborhoods, providing recommendations and broader questions for further investment in communities beyond the end of the ‘re-urbanization’ process.
This experience provided me a valuable look into a public housing authority doing meaningful work in individuals’ lives. Moreover, it prepared me to bring this perspective of institutional reform back home. During my gap year between my first and second years at the College, I will be working in housing justice efforts, helping people facing eviction prepare for the eventual crisis they will face come December 31, when the national moratorium ends. I hope to lend my skills and energy to organizations that have real impact on individuals in precarious housing situations, and this has been an excellent start in better understanding the ways I can have an impact and work toward justice. I believe fundamentally that housing is a human right, and I know a better world is possible.
I’m immensely grateful for everyone at DRCLAS who made this possible — María José Ferreyra, Magdalena Richards Donnelly, Rachel Murray-Crawford, and so many others. This was a genuinely transformative experience.