Geography
Research Facilitation
Lucas Belury is a geographer, researcher, & facilitator working toward a sustainable and equitable world. His research focuses on racial justice, the US-Mexico borderlands, and the power of geospatial data to challenge structural inequality.
HIGHLIGHTED WORK
-
![]()
FLUJOS RGV
FLUJOS RGV is a collaborative research project developed with community-based flood justice organizations in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. This project challenges the environmental racism of flood injustice throughout the RGV.
-
![]()
Queer Latinidad
This archival project addresses the silences of queer Latinidad in San Antonio, Texas. By focusing on a distinctive period of queer history, the decade between Stonewall (1969) and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic (1981), this project expands our knowledge of queer of color life.
-
![]()
Water Justice Knowledge Exchange
The Water Justice Knowledge Exchange is a series of knowledge exchange sessions between scholars and community-based organizations around water injustice.
-
![]()
Flood Justice en las Fronteras
Justice & Floods in the US-Mexico Borderlands/Justicia e Inundaciones en las Fronteras de Estados Unidos y México is a bilingual/binational podcast to grow our understanding of flood justice in the US-Mexico borderlands.
-
![]()
FLUJOS
FLUJOS is a collaborative co-production model that centers the lived experiences of local communities with remote sensing for flood detection. By leveraging satellite-based flood maps and the local expertise of community-based organizations and flood affected populations, this model challenges flood injustice.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
GEOGRAPHIC Perspective
Lucas Belury (he/him/el) is a PhD Geography candidate at the University of Arizona. His research centers local knowledge-holders by collaborating with community-based organizations on issues of racial and environmental justice. Lucas has published articles on environmental racism/injustice along the US-Mexico borderlands and LGBTQ+ history and theory. His current work integrates the lived experience of Latinx border residents into multi-modal knowledge systems. Through this work Lucas aims to support marginalized communities as they challenge systemic inequality.
-
Pedagogy
I aim to empower students to explore marginalized perspectives and identities by critical engaging with their world. My goal is to inspire students to become compassionate and informed advocates.
-
Research
In my research I utilize the Latinx cultural concept of testimonios to elevate underprivileged voices and move the needle on (in)equity and (in)justice. In doing so I aim to center the lived experience of marginalized communities through advocacy, scholarship, and knowledge co-production.
-
Community Engagement
A core tenant of my ethos as a scholar is community engagement and knowledge co-production. I see community engagement as both ethos and research methodology.