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Hanley Sustainability Institute

A summer of sustainability: My SURF Fellowship experience at HSI

By Izzy Waite

A summer fellowship can be a transformative experience, offering hands-on opportunities to apply academic knowledge to real-world challenges.

I was privileged to be accepted into this year's SURF (Sustainability Undergraduate Research Fellowship) cohort. SURF is an undergraduate research program where the student develops their research topic, advised by an interdisciplinary group of professors and University of Dayton faculty members.

My research topic primarily focused on urban planning in Downtown Dayton. I have been very interested in urban and community planning since I declared my concentration in Urban Sustainability. Because of SURF’s focus on student-led research, I was able to concentrate on my interests, and with the help of my advisors, I successfully executed my project.

My research focused on two topics: the current zoning and assets in Downtown Dayton and the application of sustainable urban planning strategies to the city’s existing layout. This involved extensive work with GIS (Geographic Information System), with which my advisor Chia Yu-Wu helped me. With the guidance of my main advisor, Felix Fernando, I looked into Dayton’s current zoning and development plans downtown. Building on this foundation, I applied urban planning strategies such as mixed-use zoning, green roofs, superblocks, tree canopy covering, solar panel parking lot canopies, bike lanes and enhanced infrastructure to make Downtown Dayton more livable. The final report of my summer research project is still in progress, but I am hopeful that it will be useful for future planning in Downtown Dayton

This fellowship really helped me connect what I’ve been learning in my classes to real-world challenges. Working on sustainability in Dayton gave me hands-on experience in how urban planning can actually make a difference in communities. I got to use GIS tools, which not only improved my technical skills but also highlighted the importance of data and spatial analysis in making informed decisions for city planning. It was exciting to see how my work could potentially contribute to Dayton’s sustainability goals.

This experience definitely prepared me for graduate school in community planning and showed me how complex yet rewarding it can be to create sustainable cities.

Being able to contribute to the University of Dayton’s mission of promoting sustainability and social justice made the fellowship even more meaningful for me. Overall, this opportunity has strengthened my passion for urban sustainability and helped me grow both personally and professionally.

Photo cutline: An asset-mapped Downtown Dayton though Geographic Information Systems.

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