Laura Castro Diaz
Biography
I am a sustainability scholar who conducts community-based research to address environmental injustices (Food, Water, and Energy) and sustainability challenges. I employ diverse collaborative and community-based frameworks and methods to examine the implications and responses to water and energy injustices at different scales, from the individual to the global scale.
Area of Expertise
- Environmental Justice
- Energy Justice
- Water Justice
- Sustainability
- Community-Based research
- Mixed methods
- Social-Ecological Systems
Professional Publications & Contributions
Castro-Diaz, L., Nwadiaru, O. V., Roque, A., Caverly, N., Kenner, A., & Harper, K. (2024). Participatory research in energy justice: Guiding principles and practice. Progress in Energy, 6(3), 033005.
Castro-Diaz, L., Lopez, M. C., Moore, S., Radonic, L., Hodbod, J., & Moran, E. (2024). Multidimensional and multitemporal energy injustices: Exploring the downstream impacts of the Belo Monte hydropower dam in the Amazon. Energy Research & Social Science, 113, 103568.
Castro-Diaz, L., García, M. A., Villamayor-Tomas, S., & Lopez, M. C. (2023). Impacts of hydropower development on locals’ livelihoods in the Global South. World Development, 169, 106285. * Open Access
Moran, E. F., Lopez, M. C., Mourão, R., Brown, E., McCright, A. M., Walgren, J., Bortoleto, A. P., Mayer, A., Johansen, I. C., Ramos, K. N., Castro-Diaz, L., Garcia, M. A., Lembi, R. C., & Mueller, N. (2022). Advancing convergence research: Renewable energy solutions for off-grid communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(49), e2207754119. *Open Access
Brown, E., Johansen, I., Boftoleto, A., Pokhrel, J., Chaudhari, S., Cak., A., Sulaeman, S., Castro-Diaz, L., Lopez, M., Mayer, A., Walgren, J., Moran, E. (2022) v“Feasibility of hybrid in-stream generator-photovoltaic systems for Amazonian off-grid communities”. PNAS Nexus.&
Mayer, A., Garcia, M.A., Castro-Diaz, L., Lopez, M. Moran, E. (2022). Business-as-usual: Procedural Injustices in the Madeira Hydroelectric Complex. Global Environmental Change.
Garcia, M. A., Castro-Díaz, L., Villamayor-tomas, S., & Lopez, C. (2021). Are large-scale hydroelectric dams inherently undemocratic? Global Environmental Change, 71, 102395. *Open Access!
Mayer, A., Lopez, M. C., Castro-Diaz, L., LeTurq, G., Moran, E. F. Is hydropower worth it? Exploring Amazonian resettlement, human development and environmental cost with the Belo Monte project in Brazil. Energy Research & Social Science.
Aminpour, P., Gray, S., Richardson, R., Singer, A., Castro-Diaz, L., Schaefer, M., & Ramlan, M. A. (2019). Perspectives of scholars on the nature of sustainability: a survey study. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, ahead-of-p.
Castro-Diaz, L., Lopez, M. C. and Moran, E. (2018) “Gender-Differentiated Impacts of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam on Downstream Fishers in the Brazilian Amazon,” Human Ecology. Human Ecology, 46(3), pp. 411–422.
SantoDomingo, A. F., Castro-Diaz, L., González-Uribe, C., The Wayúu Community of Marbacella and El Horno, & The Barí Community of Karikachaboquira. (2016). Ecosystem Research Experience with TwoIndigenous Communities of Colombia: The Ecohealth Calendar as a Participatory and Innovative Methodological Tool. EcoHealth, 1–11. *Open Access!
Additional Information
I’ve participated in several interdisciplinary and participatory research projects with minority groups in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and the U.S. Currently, I am participating in two community-based health and environmental justice projects focused on water insecurity, seeking to close the water gap and promote empowerment in community water decision-making.