Clare Beer

Biography

My research and teaching draw from the fields of economic geography and political ecology, and broadly concern the governance and justice dimensions of environmental sustainability. In previous work I examined the changing nature of conservation and development policy in Chilean Patagonia, including environmental philanthropy’s efforts to reimagine the country’s position within a global economic system undergoing rapid green transition. I am currently working on three new projects. The first investigates the role of Chile’s public finance apparatus, specifically state subsidies for extractive industry, in shaping geographies of biodiversity loss, as well as geographies of state-led biodiversity protection. A second project investigates the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in greater Los Angeles: novel rewilding infrastructure addressing conflict and risk in the wildland-urban interface. Though not slated to open until 2026, it is already being framed as an important test case in (re)engineering ecological resilience. Lastly, I am collaborating with Dr. Sara Salazar Hughes (CSU–Monterey Bay) to study the relationship between settler colonialism and sustainability capitalism in California.

Education (2)

UCLA: M.A., Geography 2017

UCLA: Ph.D., Geography 2022

Areas of Expertise (8)

Political Ecology

Geographical Political Economy

Capitalist State Theory

Conservation & Development

Politics of Environmental Philanthropy

Environmental Justice

Sustainability & Settler Colonialism

Green Infrastructure

Accomplishments (9)

LMU Faith & Justice Curriculum Development Grant

2024

Honorable Mention, Best Dissertation Award, AAG Economic Geography Specialty Group

2023

Graduate Student Paper Award, AAG Economic Geography Specialty Group

2022

Graduate Student Paper Award, AAG Latin America Specialty Group

2022

UCLA Barbara Maida Award for Outstanding Female Scholars

2021

Graduate Student Paper Award, AAG Rural Geography Specialty Group

2021

UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship

2021

UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award for Teaching Assistants

2020

Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship

2019

Courses (2)

EVST 3020/URBN 3046

Sustainable Cities

EVST 3130

Environmental Justice

Articles (2)

“A cold, hard asset”: Conservation resource spectacle in Chilean Patagonia

Geoforum, 143, 103773

2023

Bankrolling biodiversity: The politics of philanthropic conservation finance in Chile

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 6(2), 1191-1213

2023