ANNOTATED BILBIOGRAPHY 1

Annotated Bibliography

Hector Luis Chavez Moy

University of Texas at El Paso

RWS1301 MWF

April 1, 2018, 2018

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abstract

This is an annotated bibliography on Colonias Poverty including diverse sources, from books and

journal articles, to websites and newspapers, answering to basic questions on the matter.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Annotated Bibliography

The intention of the research is to find a relation between UTEP and the colonias poverty issue,

using diverse sources. Since UTEP is located in a community with high density of colonias, it is

normal to think that there may be a connection between the two, from colonias residents

attending UTEP, or university departments doing research on colonias.

Research Questions

What are colonias?

Colonias are low-income settlements lacking basic infrastructure like paved streets, water

and electricity services, and public transportation. Most of the residents are Latin-

American immigrants that were fooled to buy cheap land on the outsides of actual cities,

without any planning.

Is the panorama for colonias expected to get any better?

Although the colonias conditions improve over time, there is still a difficult if not

impossible path to wellness. Cost for required improvements are so high that the solution

may be to search for a new place to live.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Annotated Bibliography

Ramos, I. N., May, M., & Ramos, K. S. (2001). Field action report. environmental health training

of promotoras in colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. American Journal of Public

Health, 91(4), 568-570. Retrieved from http://0-

search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cin20&AN=106925525&s

ite=eds-live&scope=site

Field action report for the “promotoras project” established in 1999, to develop and

implement a research, education and outreach pilot program of sustainable environmental

health in the colonias. The authors are part of the program, and have experience on the

matter. The report gives an introduction on what are colonias, and their main issues. The

Texas borderlands have experienced an explosion of industrial and population growth.

The number of residents in colonias on the US side of the border exceeds 500,000, 98 %

of whom are Hispanic. Sixty-five percent of all colonia residents, and 85 % of those

younger than 18 years, were born in the United States. It was published in 2001 and all of

the data presented is official and verified, helping the process of this research.

Ramshaw, E. (2011, 07/08; 2018/3). Improvement comes up short in south Texas colonias. The

New York Times Retrieved from http://0-

link.galegroup.com.lib.utep.edu/apps/doc/A260841889/OVIC?u=txshracd2603&xid=1bc

6f484

News report from the New York Times about the current improvements in progress on the

Texas colonias. The author interviewed local, state and federal officials on his research.

Ask many of the officials charged with improving conditions in Texas colonias about

their progress and you will receive a string of pre-packaged responses: how generous
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

state and federal budgets writers have been, how wisely money has been spent, and how

cooperatively they have worked together to aim the more than 2,300 impoverished

villages on this side of the Mexican border. Patience is all the inhabitants of many Texas

colonias have had. There are no paved streets or sewers, basic infrastructure that was

promised to the Mexican immigrants that who bought land here 30 years ago.

Reimers, C. A. (2015). El Fenomeno de la informalidad en periferias urbanas de los estados

unidos de América. Revista: Módulo Arquitectura CUC, 14(1), 33-53. Retrieved

from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.a

spx?direct=true&db=fua&AN=109011846&site=eds-live&scope=site

Informative article presented about the phenomenon of Texas colonias, the author is

currently an assistant professor at the School of Architecture and Planning of the Catholic

University of America in Washington D.C.. Informal housing is usually related to urban

periphery of cities combining poverty and rapid growth, which are characteristics in Latin

America and many other developing countries. That is why it is not common to relate this

to a country on the other side of the socioeconomic spectrum, United States.

Sharkey, J. R., Dean, W. R., Nalty, C. C., & Xu, J. (2013). Convenience stores are the key food

environment influence on nutrients available from household food supplies in Texas

border colonias. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-8. 10.1186/1471-2458-13-45 Retrieved

from http://0-

search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=85916461&site

=eds-live&scope=site

Research article about how convenience stores are the main food supply for colonias

residents, and how that fact explains diverse health issues among them. Nutrition-related
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

health conditions, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, are increasing among Mexican-

origin-children and adolescents. Risk factors include increased intakes of energy-dense

and nutrient-poor foods, such as fats, salty snacks, desserts and sugar-sweetened

beverages. For poor populations, energy-dense foods may also be more affordable and

accessible. Neighborhood food stores, such as convenience stores are ubiquitous, smaller

in size and carry fewer fresh and healthier food items. According to their study, a greater

distance to the nearest convenience store was associated with reduced amounts of total

energy, vitamin D, total sugar, added sugar, total fat, and saturated fat.

Sumaya, C., Carrillo-Zuniga, G., Kelley, M., May, M., Zhu, L., & Donnelly, K. C. (2006).

Linking research to health promotion in Texas colonias. American Journal of Health

Studies, 21(3), 245-252. Retrieved from http://0-

search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=25219339&site

=eds-live&scope=site

Report about the health promotion in Texas colonias. Colonias are rural unincorporated

settlements located within 60 miles of the Texas-Mexico border. Currently there are

approximately 1800 colonias, with population around 500,000 and their numbers

continues to grow. Recent research has detected elevated concentrations of pesticides in

house dust and in the urine of children in colonias. Health education and outreach is a

cost-effective means of empowering communities to improve their health. Many

organizations have found that health workers called promotores/as on the border, are a

valued an effective resource in reaching this communities and providing health education

or advocacy for other health-related efforts thereby improving the health of communities.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Vock, D. C. (2017). On the Texas border, building infrastructure is hard. critics say it's about to

get harder. . Retrieved from http://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-

infrastructure/gov-texas-colonias-border-infrastructure.html

Website for “Governing”, a media platform covering politics, policy and management for

state and local government leaders. Appears to have a good reputation, with high

credibility between state and local leaders, according to The Erdos Survey. According to

the author, building basic infrastructure in colonias is hard, but it is about to become

harder. The sewer system serving 5,000 people in a El Paso-area colonia would cost as

much as $40 million. The poor organization of colonias makes installing basic services

difficult, because sometimes houses are built on floodplains, with no defined roads or

sidewalks. Residents of colonias were promised by developers that they would eventually

install electricity, running water and paved roads, but developers failed to deliver. Last

summer, Greg Abbot, terminated a Bush’s program that served colonias residents to

figure out programs available to help them, that move came as a surprise to many

officials from colonias areas. Abbot says that it was a redundant program and that funding

to colonias should go directly to them, and not to government bureaucracy.

Ward, P. (1999). Colonias and Public Policy in Texas and Mexico: Urbanization by Stealth.

University of Texas Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7560/791244

Book published by the University of Texas Press, the author presents official data on

various issues affecting colonias, such as street paving, drinking water, sewers, electricity,

and public transportations to name a few. The border region colonias are important low-

income housing areas, the principal characteristics of which are cheaply acquired land,

inadequate infrastructure, and self-help dwelling construction. Although different in

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

certain respects from their Mexican counterparts, Texas colonias are fundamentally the

same phenomenon. While colonias exist throughout Texas, by far their largest

concentration is in the border region with Mexico, where more than 1,400 such

settlements house.

Fay, M. (Ed.). (2005). The urban poor in Latin America. Washington D.C.: The World Bank.

Working One’s Way Up: The Urban Poor and Labor Market by Caterina Ruggeri

Laderchi is an essay part of the Urban poor in Latin America book edited by Marianne

Fay. The key asset of the poor is human capital, which they can monetize through the

labor market. Gaining employment particularly employment that pays a decent wage and

offers benefits, stability and protects for growth is probably the major challenge facing

the urban poor. The poor went to the cities looking for greater opportunities, but ended up

working at low wages and with deplorable housing.

UC Staff. (2018, March, 21, 2018). UTEP earns Texas rain catcher award for rainwater

harvesting system. Retrieved from https://www.utep.edu/newsfeed/campus/utep-will-

receive-texas-rain-catcher-award-for-rainwater-harvesting-system-installation-in-

colonia.html

Article published by the UC Staff on the UTEP’s website, it is about a new rainwater

harvesting system developed by UTEP students and staff. It mentions that it may be

useful on colonias where they lack drinking water.