It's not queer to be gay: Miami and the emergence of the gay rights movement, 1945–1995

This work chronicles how queer individuals politicized their same-sex desires from the post-World War II era to the mid-1990s. Using Miami as a site of exploration, this work demonstrates the shift from understanding homosexuality as a same-sex "desire" to a distinct form of "civil rights." It argues that by no means was it inevitable that queer issues entered the American political mainstream. This project pays particular attention to Miami's Cuban exile community, as it managed to garner great socio-political power in the city. Like others in the city's power structure, Miami's Cuban exiles were also fundamentally traditionalists. Together, these phenomena crystallized into a matrix of obstacles that stunted the growth of the gay rights movement. This work demonstrates the historical dynamics of sexuality and politics by contextualizing immigration, ethnicity, race, consumerism, and Cold War domestic and foreign policy.

Wayside Trees of Tropical Florida : a guide to the native and exotic trees and palms of Miami and tropical south Florida

Wayside Trees is an beautifully illustrated guide to Florida trees growing south of Lake Okeechobee. It covers both native and exotic species in the areas of Miami to Palm Beach on the east coast, and Naples to Fort Meyers on the west. The introduction describes environmental, cultural and economic importance of trees, while a non-technical key provides a means for even non-specialists to identify the 167 most common species. The bulk of the book consists of illustrated descriptions of the trees, arranged by plant family, and includes ecological and cultural information on each species. Lavishly illustrated with over 1200 color photographs and diagrams, the book is designed to serve homeowners, gardeners, teachers and students, as well as environmental professionals. It is also a useful guide to urban tropical trees growing outside south Florida. The authors, a botanist and a graphic artist, have 70 collective years of experience living, working, and loving the trees of south Florida.

The role of neighborhood organizations in the production of gentrifiable urban space: The case of Wynwood, Miami's Puerto Rican barrio

Partnerships between government and community-based actors and organizations are considered the hallmark of contemporary governance arrangements for the revitalization and gentrification of economically distressed, inner city areas. This dissertation uses historical, narrative analysis and ethnographic methods to examine the formation, evolution and operation of community-based governance partnerships in the production of gentrifiable urban space in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, FL between 1970 and 2010. This research is based on more than four years of participant observation, 60 in-depth interviews with respondents recruited through a purposive snowball sample, review of secondary and archival sources, and descriptive, statistical and GIS analysis. This study examines how different organizations formed in the neighborhood since the 1970s have facilitated the recent gentrification of Wynwood. It reveals specifically how partnerships between neighborhood-based government agencies, nonprofit organizations and real estate developers were constructed to be exclusionary and lead to inequitable economic development outcomes for Wynwood residents. The key factors conditioning these inequalities include both the rationalities of action of the organizations involved and the historical contexts in which their leaders’ thinking and actions were shaped. The historical contexts included the ethnic politics of organizational funding in the 1970s and the “entrepreneurial” turn of community-based economic development and Miami urban politics since the 1980s. Over time neighborhood organizations adopted highly pragmatic rationalities and repertoires of action. By the 2000s when Wynwood experienced unprecedented investment and redevelopment, the pragmatism of community-based organizations led them to become junior partners in governance arrangements and neighborhood activists were unable to directly challenge the inequitable processes and outcomes of gentrification.

The civic achievement gap: A study on the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Hispanic students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools

This study assessed the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Hispanic eighth grade students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), Florida. Three hundred sixty one Hispanic students of Cuban (253), Colombian (57), and Nicaraguan (51) ancestry from 10 middle schools participated in the study. Two hundred twenty eight students were from low socio-economic status (SES) background, and 133 were of middle SES background. There were 136 boys and 225 girls. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Civic Education Student Questionnaire was used to collect data. The instrument assessed the students’ civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test for differences in the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of participants based on ancestry, SES, and gender. ^ The findings indicated that there was no significant difference in the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Hispanic eighth grade students that were of Cuban, Colombian, and Nicaraguan ancestry. There was no significant difference in the civic skills and in five of the civic attitude scales for students from low SES families compared to those from middle SES families. However, there was a significant difference in the civic knowledge and in the civic attitude concerning classroom discussions and participation based on SES. The civic knowledge of middle SES students was higher than that of low SES students. Furthermore, middle SES Hispanic students displayed a higher mean score for the civic attitude of classroom discussions and participation than low SES students. There was no significant difference in the civic knowledge and in five of the civic attitude scales between boys and girls. However, there was a significant difference in the civic skills and the civic attitude of support for women’s rights between boys and girls. Hispanic girls displayed a higher mean score in civic skills than Hispanic boys. Furthermore, the mean score of civic attitude of support for women’s rights for Hispanic girls was higher than that of Hispanic boys. ^ It was concluded that Cuban, Colombian, or Nicaraguan participants did not demonstrate differences in civic attitudes and levels of civic knowledge and skills that eighth grade students possessed. In addition, when compared to boys, girls demonstrated a higher level of civic skills and a greater support for women’s rights and participation in politics and their roles in politics. Moreover, SES was demonstrated to be a key factor in the acquisition of civic knowledge, regardless of ancestry.^

Heterogeneity in Residential Yard Care: Evidence from Boston, Miami, and Phoenix

The management of residential landscapes occurs within a complex socio-ecological system linking household decision-making with ecological properties, multi-scalar human drivers, and the legacy effects of past management. Conventional wisdom suggests that resource-intensive turf grass yards are the most common landscaping outcome, resulting in a presumed homogeneous set of residential landscaping practices throughout North America. We examine this homogenization thesis through an interview-based, cross-site study of residential landscape management in Boston, Phoenix, and Miami. Counter to the homogeneity thesis, we find that yard management practices often exhibit heterogeneity, for example, in groundcover choice or use of chemical inputs. The degree of heterogeneity in management practices varies according to the scale of analysis, and is the outcome of a range of constraints and opportunities to which households respond differently depending on their existing yard and landscaping preferences. This study highlights the importance of multi-scalar and cross-site analyses of decision-making in socio-ecological systems, and presents opportunities for longitudinal and cross-site research to examine the extent to which homogeneity is actually present in the management of residential landscapes over time and in diverse places.