Inland Epire [WIP]

Entre Dos Tierras is an ongoing project that aims to create a visual archive of the ranchero legacy in the Inland Empire, investigate and document the imminent expansion and construction of warehouse facilities as well as the invasive presence of multinational logistics companies in the Inland Empire and its effects on the landscape, environment, and Ranchero communities in the region.

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For decades, the Inland Empire region has been the home of thousands of Mexican immigrants and Chicanos embracing the traditional rural and equestrian lifestyle, many of them relocated from Los Angeles due to the low living costs, which presented the opportunity to buy land and establish their ranchos, and for some of them the chance to make a living from it.

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The Inland Empire region is famously known for agricultural production; however, because of its geographical location and access to freight railroad lines and existing supply chain routes, this region sparked the interest of real estate developers and multinational logistic companies such as FedEx, Amazon among others, leading them into building and expanding warehouse facilities. Although this expansion has generated employment, the working conditions of fulfillment centers are far from ideal, lacking essential benefits and employees at constant risk of workplace injuries.

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Industrial gentrification has shifted not only the economy of the region but also the landscape, environment, and cultural aspects; rancheros and other communities are constantly harassed to sell their properties, and regulations were put in place to limit the number and type of animals allowed in a property, bad air quality exposes people to respiratory diseases, and neighborhoods become surrounded and fragmented by warehouses resulting in high traffic, hostile urban environments, deficient public services, as obstacles for healthy community development. However, Rancheros in Bloomington, Jurupa Valley, Fontana, and other cities are making efforts to preserve the traditional rural lifestyle by organizing protests, fundraising events, and organizing community members to fight for their heritage

and legacy.

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