Class Information

Who are we?

Left to Right: Lisa Pattillo, Emily Anderson, Gemma Park, Richard L Ludwig Jr, Almi Mansaray, Eliaz Bourez, Kathrine Udell, Kat Drummonds, Professor Jairo H Garcia, Maxwell Rafferty, Audrey Leous, Teaching Assistant Nina Zou, Bryce Alison Huber , Kateryna Polyakova

A Team of Georgia Tech Students

The CP 2233 Sustainable Urban Development course at Georgia Tech is a studio style class that is the capstone for the Sustainable Cities minor. The Fall 2019 studio is partnered with Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) to create a vulnerability assessment of Downtown Atlanta. The class is split into four teams: Policy, Economic, Environmental, and Engineering. The policy, economic, and environmental teams are responsible for the data analytics and vulnerability mapping for the social, economic, and environmental vulnerabilities downtown. The engineering team is responsible for building the library of solutions, creating and maintaining the website, and prioritizing solutions and vulnerable areas. The goal of the studio is to assist CAP in their creation of a sustainability plan.

Class Instructors

Dr. Jairo Garcia

Class Professor

Dr. Jairo Garcia is an expert in sustainable urban development, carbon mitigation and climate adaptation and resilience. His experience includes performing spatial data analysis for ecological assessments and to identify climate vulnerabilities and risks analysis. Dr. Garcia is the former Director of Climate Policies and Renewables with the City of Atlanta. Dr. Garcia received the Individual Climate Leadership Award by the EPA in 2017. This award recognized Dr. Garcia’s leadership in addressing climate change and engaging organization, peers, and partners.

Nina Zou

Class Teaching Assistant

Hi! I’m Nina Zou, a graduate student in the Master of City and Regional Planning program at Georgia Institute of Technology. I am currently serving as a teaching assistant under Dr. Jairo Garcia in a Sustainable Cities studio. My focal academic interests lay at the intersection of planning and public health, with an aim to make living a healthier life easier. Sustainability is a large consideration in planning for future development and population health, so being able to assist in this studio is a humbling experience.

Outside of my academic interests, I enjoy hiking, exploring new places, lifting weights, cooking, and rock climbing.

Engineering&Design Team

Engineering & Design Team

Kat Drummonds

Hi, I’m Kat Drummonds, and I am a senior studying Industrial Design. I have a passion for sustainable design including material use, energy, and transitioning physical practices to digital. My contributions to this project were building the website, researching vulnerabilities to stakeholders, building the library, and creating graphics.

I enjoy staying active, and I have a soft spot for animals. A little fun fact is that I used to have a pet female chameleon named Boy George! (Kudos if you get the reference.)

Kateryna Polyakova

I am a senior Civil Engineering major and I am pursuing a minor in Sustainable Cities. I plan on possibly working in water and wastewater infrastructure after graduation in Maryland. I am interested in ways to include sustainability in my future career. I contribute problem solving skills, technical skills, and attention to detail to the Engineering & Design Team.

Bryce Huber

I am a fourth-year Civil Engineering major also completing a Sustainable Cities Minor. I have an interest in urban development and how sustainability is incorporated into our fast-growing urban centers. As a member of the Engineering & Design Team I have been using my engineering problem-solving and teamwork skills to help design the structure of our project and execute our analysis of the vulnerabilities of downtown Atlanta and some potential solutions to help mitigate these issues.

Max Rafferty

I am a fourth-year Industrial Engineering student at Georgia Tech with an interest in sustainable cities. As a member of the Engineering team I’m contributing my process documentation and analysis skills. I am used to only working with other IEs, so having such a multi-disciplinary team has been an awesome experience!

Economic Team

Economics Team

Gemma Park

I am a fourth year Economics and International Affairs Major and I am working towards a Minor in Sustainable Cities here at Georgia Tech. Last summer, I had the opportunity to work for Southface Institute where I collaborated with Clean Cities Georgia looking at alternative fuel options for the southeast as well as looking at ways to create partnerships that would in the long run reduce Georgia’s carbon footprint as a whole.

I am on the Economics Team within this Sustainable Cities Studio looking at correlation between variables such as Climate Change and Small Business Vulnerability, Restaurant Visitation Downtown, and Commercial Energy Usage. My unique background has inspired my interest in projects such as this one as well as given me a diverse perspective in terms of looking at sustainable solutions through an economics lens.

Eliaz Bourez

I am a French exchange student currently studying at the Georgia Institute of Technology. My major is Econ and international affairs but I always wanted to take a class of urban planning before, thus, when I saw this Sustainable Cities Studio I registered right away. I wasn’t disappointed, the project we are achieving in this studio is challenging and very exciting. Furthermore in the realization of this vulnerability assessment we are working hand in hand with the city of Atlanta, which makes it much more concrete.

As an exchange only here for 1 year I really enjoy being able to actually work with this amazing city. Through this report I feel that I discovered Atlanta through a very original lens.

Science & Tech Team

Science & Technology Team

Almi Mansaray

Hey I’m Almi, I am a third year at Georgia Tech! I have always been passionate about equity and sustainability. As a kid I would force my family to recycle every single shampoo bottle and looked up to social activist I learned about in history class. My interests led me to major in environmental engineering and minor in both sustainable cities and social justice. Working in the environmental team, I focus on looking at the implications of climate change in the downtown area.

In my time at Tech I have been lucky to have partnered with Partnership for Southern Equity to tell climate stories on energy burden here in Georgia, interned with the Serve Learn Sustain internship program working on water quality of the Catawba River basin in my home of South Carolina, and serve in a leadership role in the GT Net Impact Chapter which pushes for sustainability and equity in the workforce. My dream to work in sustainable efforts in the future that better the environment and the communities through urban development or water treatment.

Kathrine Udell

I’m Kathrine Udell, a fifth-year Earth and Atmospheric Science major and Sustainable Cities minor. As a student at Georgia Tech, my interests have included all things Earth Science. I’ve worked on sustainability projects from both a scientific perspective and a design perspective. My research at Tech has relied heavily on the use of GIS systems, so I tried to bring all three of those perspectives and skills to this project. It was enjoyable to work with other talented students to create a product like this which really fit well within my interests.

Policy Team

Richard Leo Ludwig

I’m Leo Ludwig, an undergraduate senior in Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy. My passion for social and environmental justice led me to the Sustainable City Planning program at Tech. Prior to joining the Sustainable Cities Studio, I worked for a non-profit organization supporting social entrepreneurship in Atlanta. My primary contributions to this project include creating the GIS maps for social variables and building the interactive web mapping app.

I have also worked for close to a decade as a professional touring musician, travelling and performing at venues such as The Tabernacle in Downtown Atlanta, Chicago Symphony Hall, and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. Though educational and professional opportunities have taken priority, the lessons learned on the ground in numerous American cities continue to inform my ideas on what sustainability ought to look like.

Emily Anderson

I am a fourth year Public Policy major and I am also pursuing minors in French and Sustainable Cities. I have held internships at private, public, and non-profit organizations which have given me a broad view on all of the stakeholders involved in creating a more sustainable world. I have held the position of Legislative Aide for the Energy, Utilities, and Telecommunications Committee at the Georgia House of Representatives for the past two legislative sessions, which has informed my love of state and local policy. My knowledge about and passion for the policy making process is why I am so excited to be working on the social team and to be partnering with Central Atlanta Progress for this project!

Lisa Harris Pattillo

Lisa Harris Patillo is a Master Real Estate Development Graduate Student who completed requisites for the degree August 3, 2019. She is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, and after retiring from Xerox Corporation decided to return to school, on the senior waiver program to pursue her master's degree. She endeavors to build affordable and sustainable housing for seniors, veterans, and first-time home buyers in Metro-Atlanta.

She became most interested in sustainable development after taking a course in Sustainable Urban Development and gaining knowledge of the pillars of sustainability. Though not pursuing a certificate (grad student not eligible for minor) in Sustainable Cities, she wanted to be part of the Sustainable Cities Studio to have an impact on the building of her beloved home city.