Better living through city planning
No trees and high temperatures spell trouble. On sweltering summer days, the absence of shade trees can raise the temperature by 8 degrees in Richmond’s urban heat islands. This increases heat-related hospitalizations. Similarly, elevated levels of toxins in parts of the city exacerbate the effects of asthma. These are the types of issues senior Lay’la Harmon, a leadership studies and sociology major, has worked to address in her City of Richmond Office of Sustainability internship.
Harmon worked full-time at the Office of Sustainability last summer to complete her Jepson School of Leadership Studies internship. This academic year, she has continued working there 10 hours a week to fulfill her community service requirement as a Bonner Scholar. One of her primary projects has been creating environmental justice tours for city residents.
“I’ve collaborated with the University of Richmond’s NAACP chapter to curate tours specifically designed for each of the city’s voter districts,” she said. “My goal is to inform voters about what’s going on in their neighborhoods. Holding listening-and-learning sessions with researchers and community members helps me determine the topics of greatest interest to them.”
Mapping Richmond environmental disparities with Dr. Robert Nelson in the University’s Digital Scholarship Lab has enhanced her understanding of the role of redlining — the historic practice of government disinvestment in minority neighborhoods — in creating these disparities.
“Our research revealed some heartbreaking findings, such as an elementary school built in the cross-hairs of an industrial plant that is an environmental hazard,” she said. “This reflects a lack of care and empathy in city planning,”
Harmon said she saw similar patterns of race-based inequities emerge when she mapped her hometown of Chester, Pennsylvania, at the Digital Scholarship Lab. “Chester was previously an industrial town where many Black and Brown people worked in the factories,” she said. “Housing was built near the factories to ease commuting, but without any consideration for people living in areas where they would be breathing toxins.”
Leadership studies professor Julian Hayter’s Justice and Civil Society class affirmed her interest in city planning early on, she said. She learned about many of the social and environmental justice issues connected to the built environment and engaged in what she described as an intense community-based project.
“A classmate and I interviewed past and current executive directors of Richmond’s Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia and researched community engagement,” Harmon said. “We created a list of suggestions for increasing museum attendance, including extending the reach of the museum beyond its walls by holding events in a park right across the street.”
She cited her 2024 spring-semester study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, as another profound learning experience.
“On the drive from the airport to downtown, we passed one of the city’s largest townships,” Harmon said. “The homes were built of aluminum — something you’d never see in America. I immediately realized my privilege, something I hadn’t realized before as a Black American. Downtown Cape Town, with its beautiful historical buildings and skyscrapers, is such a contrast. My classes on city planning in South Africa were eye-opening.”
With graduation just two weeks away, Harmon is looking to the future. She has received a full scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a master’s program in city and regional planning, with a focus on housing and community development.
“I want to go into city planning to mitigate the kinds of disparities found in many cities,” she said. “I enjoy working to bridge the gap between academics and residents. Knowledge is worth nothing if you’re not working with the people who are living and breathing in these communities.”