Researchers
Background Info
The Mexico–US borderlands encompass one of the most ecologically diverse and culturally complex regions in North America. Stretching over 3,200 kilometers and home to more than 16 million people—distributed nearly equally on both sides—this transboundary zone hosts rich biodiverse communities, including fragile riparian corridors, desert ecosystems, and migratory pathways for both humans and non-human species. Yet, despite its ecological and social intricacies, the region is persistently visualized through reductive cartographic representations that reinforce a binary geopolitical division. These maps obscure the ecological connectivity and shared environmental challenges that define the borderlands, framing the border as a hardened line rather than a dynamic, interdependent habitat.
Problem
Public health and environmental practitioners have long warned against treating the borderlands as isolated national zones. Instead, they advocate for integrated approaches that recognize the region as a coherent socio-ecological system. For example, communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV, as well as chronic conditions like diabetes, occur at disproportionately high rates in borderland communities. These patterns are not adequately explained by national boundaries or migration status, but rather by shared vulnerabilities: poverty, limited healthcare
access, and degraded environmental conditions. Relatedly, the datasets created to understand these issues are often national rather than international, making it even more difficult to understand borderland communities.
Mischaracterizing migrants as vectors of disease not only distorts epidemiological realities but also exacerbates suffering, undermines public health infrastructure, and fuels ecologically damaging policies. The COVID-19 pandemic starkly illustrated these dynamics. In 2020, the U.S. federal government’s framing of migrants as contagion threats led to the rapid construction of detention centers with unsanitary conditions, accelerating disease spread. The separation of families and the militarization of the border further strained ecological and medical systems, turning the region into a public health hotspot. Crucially, the virus spread not through anonymous contact, but through intimate social networks—families, neighbors, and communities that span the border.
Goals
Our goal is to create accessible, engaging cartographic tools for scholars, educators, and ecological stewards working to protect biodiversity and promote sustainability in the borderlands. By foregrounding habitat integrity and socio-ecological resilience, these maps will support efforts to address environmental degradation, public health disparities, and the consequences of militarized border policies. In doing so, the project aligns with broader calls within the environmental sciences to integrate ecological knowledge with social justice and policy reform.
Progress
An update on progress towards these goals will be presented at the upcoming symposium From Households to Habitats on September 11.