Dr Patria Roman-Velazquez

Patria joined the Department of CMCI in 2021 as a Senior Lecturer in Culture, Media & Creative Industries (Innovations in Research). She previously taught at Loughborough University London, City University London, and the University of Puerto Rico.

Patria is an interdisciplinary researcher with an interest in urban communication, migrant and ethnic economies, and urban regeneration. She is passionate about equality, social and spatial justice and has put race in the agenda for gentrification research.

Her current research interrogates the impact of urban regeneration and urban planning policy frameworks for London's migrant and ethnic economies.

Patria is the author of The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity (1999, e-book 2017), and co-author of Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging: Latin Americans in London (2020).

She is the founding Chair of Latin Elephant, a charity that works with migrant and ethnic groups to increase participation in processes of urban change in London.

Research interests and PhD supervision

• Migration, place and identity
• Urban communication research
• Migrant and ethnic economies
• Latin Americans in London
• Urban regeneration

Selected publications

Books:

Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging: Latin Americans in London (2020). London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Studies of the Americas series. (Co-authored with Jessica Retis).

The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity (2017). E-book published by Routledge, London. Originally published in 1999 by Ashgate, England.

Journal Articles:

Claiming a place in the global city: Urban regeneration and Latin American spaces in London (2014). Political Economy of Technology, Information & Culture Journal (EPTIC), Special Issue: City, architecture, culture and financial systems, Brazil (16)1: 68-83.

Latin American Urban Cultural Studies: Unique texts, ordinary cities (2011). Westminster Papers in Communication & Culture, Special Issue: Re-visiting Latin American Cultural and Media Studies (1): 131-153. (Co-authored with A Garcia-Vargas).

Book sections:

Latin Americans in London: Mapping digital diasporas (2021 forthcoming). In D Dalton and D Ramírez Plascencia (Eds). Imagining Latinidad: Digital Diasporas and Public Engagement Among Latin American Migrants. Boston: Brill Critical Latin America Series. (Co-authored with Jessica Retis).

Latin Americans in London: Claims over the identity of place as destination (2014). In R Campos & C. Sarmento (Eds). Popular & Visual Culture: Contexts of Design, Circulation and Consumption, Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp20-38.

Reports:

Supporting migrant and ethnic economies through regeneration in London: Lessons from community research, activism and campaigning with Latin Elephant (2021). London: Latin Elephant and King’s College London. (Co-authored with C. McIlwaine, S. Peluffo, N. Perez).

Teaching

Patria teaches in the fields of cities, migration and gentrification, precarious labour, research methodologies, and cultural memories.

Expertise and public engagement

Patria is founder and Chair of Trustees at Latin Elephant, a Charity that is working to increase engagement, participation and inclusion of migrant and ethnic groups in processes of urban change in London. Her research has been translated into a tangible programme for migrant and ethnic groups that furthers positive societal changes. Her policy intervention in the London Plan consultation (2015) led to changes in favour of the inclusion of migrant and ethnic economies. Patria has an established track record in fundraising for impact related activities including: HEIF (EPG-LU) for Brexit readiness for migrant and ethnic businesses in Southwark; and numerous external grants to support activities with the Charity.

Latin Elephant has been chosen as a positive case study for the inclusion of migrant and ethnic groups in a report by Town and Country Planning Association: London – Planning for a Just City? And Shaping London’s Town Centres by Centre for London.

Patria is called as expert witness in policy forums, including: London Assembly Economy Committee (GLA) – Evidence on Small Migrant and Ethnic Businesses, later published in the report: Helping SME’s to Thrive; Southwark Council’s Brexit Task Force Panel, later published in the report: Southwark’s Brexit Panel Report.

She is often invited to specialist talks at numerous national and international universities, external public bodies, charities and grassroots groups on the topic of spatial justice and gentrification.