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People • Faculty

Catalina Freixas

Catalina Freixas is an architect, urban designer, and an associate professor of architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, where her research centers on the urban humanities. Her research prioritizes community-engaged approaches to urban and neighborhood scale challenges using Wraparound Theory, an evidence-based practice, to design systems promoting community resiliency. Her primary objective is to develop a scalable evidence-based intervention for an ongoing neighborhood school-based project.

In her previous research, Freixas investigated the causes and consequences of urban racial residential segregation, striving to create actionable mitigation strategies within neighborhood plans. This work culminated in her publication, “Segregation by Design: Conversations and Calls for Action in St. Louis” (Springer, 2019). Freixas weaves her approach to resilient design into her studios and seminars, which have significantly impacted students in WashU’s undergraduate and graduate programs. Her efforts have been bolstered by various grants, including support from The Divided City initiative funded by the Mellon Foundation.

Freixas headshot
Catalina Freixas
Associate Professor
Academic programs
Master of Architecture
Bachelor of Science in Architecture
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture
Email
freixas@wustl.edu
Office
Givens 011
Box
1079

Select Articles, Chapters, and Publications

Segregation by Design discusses racial segregation in American cities. Using St. Louis as a point of departure, it examines the causes and consequences of residential segregation, and proposes potential mitigation strategies. While an introduction, timeline, and historical overview frame the subject, nine topic-specific conversations—between invited academics, policy makers, and urban professionals—provide the main structure. Each of these conversations is contextualized by a photograph, an editors’ note, and an essay written by a respected current or former St. Louisan. The essayists respond to the conversations by speaking to the impacts of segregation and by suggesting innovative policy and design tactics from their professional or academic perspective. The purpose of the book, therefore, is not to provide original research on residential segregation, but rather to offer a unique collection of insightful, transdisciplinary reflections on the experience of segregation in America and how it might be addressed.

Publication Details
Segregation by Design: Conversations and Calls for Action in St. Louis
Editors: Catalina Freixas and Mark Abbott
Springer, 2019
621 Pages
ISBN 9783319729558

Select Exhibitions and Presentations

  • “From Urban Sustainability to Resilience: Embracing System Theory,” Catalina Freixas; presented at Environmental Design Research Association, 2019, New York, Ny.

  • “Segregation by Design: Conversations and Calls for Actions from St. Louis,” Catalina Freixas; presented at Environmental Design Research Association, 2018, Oklahoma City, Okla.

  • “Segregation by Design: Historical Analysis of Segregation and Potential Mitigation Strategies,” Catalina Freixas; presented at Environmental Design Research Association, 2017, Madison, Wisc.

Select Awards and Grants

  • 2023 — Small Grant, WashU Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity

  • 2023 — COVID Faculty Support, WashU Office of the Provost

  • 2018 — Research Grant, International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy & Sustainability (I-CARES), Co-PI in collaboration with The Eugene and Martha Lohman Prof. Arye Nehorai, WashU.

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