On the Fringes of Urban Justice: Violence and Environmental Risks in Guatemala City

Living in the city’s ravines is the common destiny of thousands of poor urban dwellers in Guatemala City, as is too often the case elsewhere in the Global South. The ravines surrounding the city represent one of the most visible and unjust urban spaces in the nation’s capital. At the same time, Guatemala City has been among the most violent cities in the world and is highly vulnerable to climate change. Employing a critical spatial perspective and drawing on interviews in two at‐risk communities—Arzú and 5 de Noviembre—this article examines the social production of such peripheral spaces. The levels of exclusion and inequalities are analysed by focusing on the multiple manifestations (visible and invisible) of violence and environmental risks, and deciphering the complex dynamics of both issues, which in turn generate more unequal and harmful conditions for residents. This article draws on the theoretical ideas elaborated by Edward Soja, Mustafa Dikeç, and Teresa Caldeira on the contextualisation of spatial injustice and peripheral urbanisation to study the specific conditions of urban life and analyse the collective struggles of people in both communities to improve their current living conditions and mitigate the risk and the precariousness of their existence. The article underlines the need to make the processes of urban exclusion and extreme inequality visible to better understand how they have been socially and politically constructed. The research argues for more socially and ecologically inclusive cities within the process of unequal urbanisation.

Transforming an Educational Community in Guatemala Using the Plan Do Study Act Cycle

This case study with educators from a school in an urban low socioeconomic neighborhood near Guatemala City, Guatemala, explored the effectiveness of the Plan, Do, Study, Act cycle (PDSA) to guide teachers’ professional development at a Pre-K-K public school (Langley, 2009). This three-year study focused on developing teacher leaders and researchers through self-reflective accountability. Findings documented institutional problems requiring immediate and long-term attention and ways to involve families in extending literacy instruction at school to the home front. Study results highlight the need for effective and empowering literacy methods to be used in Guatemala and suggest the country’s teachers wish to support students’ critical thinking and create democratic classrooms.

Ciudad Cayalá, a New Extension of Guatemala City

In 2003, Estudio Urbano in partnership with master planner Leon Krier, proposed a new traditional town as an extension of Guatemala City: Ciudad Cayalá. Its goal is to create a humane, hospitable urban environment that fosters a strong sense of community, while generating local employment opportunities and a vibrant commercial and civic life. Paseo Cayalá is the first built quarter that is intended to serve as a model for future growth. It revives Guatemala’s unique architectural identity and offers a way of life radically different from the typically disconnected, car-oriented developments. The principle of mixed-use and programmatically-tuned architectural variety has laid the foundation for a robust emerging public realm. Paseo Cayalá celebrates local identity and has become a place of hope and happiness.

Compost, Social Sustainability, and Circular Economy in Guatemala

The research presented in this chapter explores a variety of objectives: first, what are the dynamics and associated requirements for initiating a new start-up composting business that would embrace the principles of Circular Economy? Secondly, is there a market for compost both in an urban environment and for farmers regionally in a development world economy such as Guatemala? With this, how can employment opportunities for at-risk youth from the most impoverished neighborhood in Guatemala City be created while adhering to the tenants of social sustainability? And finally, what were the requirements involved in making compost in the challenging high altitude climatic conditions of Guatemala City?

Microplastics in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) from Lake Amatitlán

Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5 mm found in the environment, which can cause health problems for aquatic organisms and humans, being classified as emerging pollutants. In Guatemala, Lake Amatitlán is one of the most polluted lakes as it receives discharges of wastewater, treated and untreated, as well as other waste from Guatemala City and other major urban populations. In a recent study, microplastics were found in sediments in Lake Amatitlán, so it was necessary to determine whether the lake's fish are affected by these pollutants, which can be harmful to their health. This research aimed to determine the microplastics in fish from Lake Amatitlán, for which 65 specimens of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were collected in October and December 2020, and January 2021. The collected fish were dissected in the laboratory, where the number and type of microplastics were analyzed in the digestive tract, after their separation by digestion and filtration. Lines or fibers were the most common type of microplastics, found in 63 specimens (96.9% of the analyzed specimens), ranging from 0 to 27 lines/fibers per individual. The frequency of other types of microplastics found were 0-3 fragments/individual, 0-2 films/individual, and 0-4 foams/individual, while microspheres were not found in any specimen. The presence of microplastics in tilapia from Lake Amatitlán is an indicator of contamination in the lake by pollutants that could affect the trophic network and represents a risk for the fish consumers, requiring the attention of environmental and health authorities. Keywords: emerging pollutants, Guatemala, pollution.

Challenges in Solid Waste Management: Insights Into the Disposal Behavior of Suburban Consumers in Guatemala City

Help, I need to get rid of it! In suburban areas of Guatemala City, inhabitants dispose of their household waste by burning it on their private property. Garbage collection coverage in the capital is inadequate, with only 85% of the generated waste being collected and collection rates in suburban areas lag far behind. This study examines the critical events, decisions and emotions linked with the disposition of household items of impoverished consumers living in the suburban area of Cumbre de San Nicolás near Guatemala City. We emphasize the determinants of their behavior, attitudes, and perceptions regarding their daily disposal routines of household possessions. The selected method to describe the poor consumers' experience in the disposition process of their household possessions is that of existential phenomenology. This analysis of 10 in-depth, semi-structured, qualitative interviews provides new insights into residents' daily disposal routines, social life, and traditions. Results show that religion, social norms, and peoples' relationships are essential for the well-being of those in suburban areas. Moreover, they significantly affect peoples' rationales and reflections on their disposal behavior and are promising factors for controlling suburban resource management of waste. This study's respondents showed a high level of awareness that on-site burning of household waste negatively affects human health and the environment. On the individual level, emotions influence the way of how people dispose of their personal belongings. Based on this study's results, we propose an intervention framework tailored to suburban impoverished citizens.

Clinical Description of Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Evaluated in a Specialized Center for Rheumatic Diseases in Guatemala City

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by the production of autoantibodies generating systemic inflammation and multiorgan involvement. In this study we describe the classificatory criteria, activity index, organ damage index and treatment of patients treated at the headquarters of the Guatemalan Association Against Rheumatic Diseases (AGAR) located in Guatemala City