Recent Graduate, Claire Patrick, Received a National Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship

One summer morning, Claire Patrick ’22 and her mentor, urban geographer Colleen Hammelman, settled in at a Colombian bakery on Atlanta’s Buford Highway. A bell over the door chimed an alert to people’s comings-and-goings, while the aroma of oranges scented the air in the bustling, inviting neighborhood spot.

Patrick and Hammelman were there to talk with people about how development is affecting the foodscapes and other community features for longer-term immigrants who live and work in the neighborhood. What she saw and heard shaped Patrick’s thinking about how spaces and places affect lives — while confirming her future career path.

“Throughout my undergraduate career,” she explained, “I had the privilege of serving as a research assistant on projects pertaining to poverty suburbanization, immigrant food landscapes, the Charlotte food system and affordable housing. Many of the topics I explored are rooted in the historical inequities within city planning, which will be exacerbated by the climate crisis. I want to meld technology and equitable planning strategies to ensure that in the future our cities are healthy, just and sustainable.”

Read the full article here.