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INSITE LAB at the UCSD–Alacrán Community Station

In October 2025, the UCSD–Alacrán Community Station hosted INSITE LAB.

This fieldtrip hosted the Housing Ecologies talks and highlighted the housing crisis in border regions, where migration, poverty, and resource scarcity demand solutions that extend beyond the physical dimension of housing. The concept of dwelling was introduced as a way of understanding housing as an ecosystem of social and cultural interaction that fosters inclusion and resilience.

The Santuario Frontera project showed how formal and informal systems can be integrated to strengthen communities facing the challenges of cross-border mobility and inequality. These discussions highlighted the need for flexible designs that foster equity and connectivity, not only through infrastructure, but also by improving access to education, healthcare, and employment, while challenging segregationist narratives.