That same year, as we examined the Society for Applied Anthropology asked its members to suggest panels and presentations to address "Sustainable Futures." The 2018 Annual Meetings would bring applied social scientists from around the world working on issues as varied as climate change and environmental justice, economic reform and social welfare, civil rights, criminal justice, immigration, and food security and sustainability to explore each other’s viewpoints. At the event, Altamente's lead social researcher, Dr. Laura Gorbea was selected to chair the panel entitled: Resilience and Sustainability, organized by the Risk & Disaster Topic Interest Group.
Set in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico, this paper explores how emergency response is used to redefine and remap the long evolving perception of crisis in Puerto Rico. Using ethnographic research, systems and text analysis the paper argues that the brief window of a sustainable future is threatened by the very colonial dependence it aims to overcome. Particular attention is paid to the narratives that emerge in a changing media landscape. Attempts to redraw notions of Puerto Rico nationhood, identity aligned with a sustainable future are met expectations of corruption and colonial exceptionalism.