Meet Ash Avila ’23 BS SBE, 2022 Transportation Research Board Minority Student Fellow
Ash Avila, a Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Built Environments student who will graduate in 2023, has been awarded an acclaimed Transportation Research Board (TRB) Minority Student Fellowship for 2022. Avila is one of 24 students selected by TRB, which “funds students from Minority-Serving Institutions to attend and present their research at the TRB Annual Meeting and help them engage in TRB’s network of transportation professionals,” according to the TRB. The program encourages students to diversify their research to create real change in infrastructure.
Avila grew up in the border city of Nogales, Arizona, which led to her interest in urban design, and particularly communities with a majority Latino population. She accredits her passion for urban planning to a sense of community. “I love to think about how roads, buildings, landscapes and other portions of the built and natural environment intersect to form a community,” she says. “Transportation is such a vital factor in creating sustainable communities. From land use to community engagement to equity, it’s part of the conversation. What really excites me about the transportation field is how community and people-oriented it is.”
The third-year student attributes much of her educational success to the faculty within CAPLA’s SBE program. “The teachers in this program care so much about their students and about the field they’re involved with,” says Avila. “It was always so easy to stay after class for a few minutes and have conversations about heat mitigation, cycling, the electric grid and all sorts of CAPLA-related topics with different teachers.”
After graduating, she hopes to work in a place where she can improve transit connectivity, particularly in relation to active transportation planning. She also has an interest in academic writing after excelling in her research work at the University of Arizona.
Ash Avila and members of her community garden group, which spent the summer starting a community garden in Nogales.
Eight Questions with Ash Avila ’23 SB SBE
What brought you to the University of Arizona to study sustainable built environments?
The University of Arizona has many strong ties to my hometown of Nogales. In high school, I was involved with a few programs the university helped sponsor, such as a local video documentation program. I got to meet university faculty and fell in love with the community that the U of A provided. I originally enrolled as a political science student before immediately going to civil engineering. I loved policy and community outreach, but my main interest was infrastructure and transportation. I spent my first two years at U of A as a civil engineering student with the intention of getting a career in urban planning. At the end of my freshman year, I found out about Sustainable Built Environments and enrolled in the SBE minor. I ended up loving it so much that I completely switched my major and I’m really glad I made that decision.
Tell us about your work relating to the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), looking at the intersection of transportation and heat as it relates to climate adaptation planning for active travelers.
This project with NITC began as part of a study to identify heat mitigation strategies at mass COVID-19 vaccination sites, such as the one we had here at the University of Arizona in Spring 2021. In March, I signed up to volunteer with the research team working on this project to help measure ambient air temperature and wet bulb globe temperature at the university's vaccination site. The research team was led by CAPLA faculty members Kristina Currans, assistant professor of urban planning, Ladd Keith, assistant professor of planning and sustainable built environments, and Nicole Iroz-Elardo, assistant research professor of planning. This was the first time I had been able to meet CAPLA faculty and other students in person and it was a lot of fun.
Ambient air temperature is the temperature reading we usually see when we google the weather. Wet bulb globe temperature is used to approximate thermal comfort—what the temperature feels like when you take into account wind, ambient air temperature, humidity and solar radiant heat. From this first set of data collection, measurements showed that the presence of idling vehicles may substantially increase heat risk during the 15-minute, post-vaccination observation period. From this, we wanted to further investigate the effect of vehicles on personal heat exposure, especially since increased heat makes it harder to use different modes of active transportation and poses a major heat risk to those road users.
We set up another round of data collection and found a positive and significant relationship between wet bulb globe temperature and vehicle presence in the observation area. When vehicles were present, the wet bulb globe temperature is an average of 0.46 °F higher than when vehicles were not present. Other studies have found similar and larger changes in temperature due to vehicle presence. This type of research is relevant for heat resilience strategies focused on pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders at bus stops. By understanding how vehicles can affect personal heat exposure, we can make commuting a more enjoyable experience by informing heat mitigation strategies, such as reducing vehicle usage in pedestrian-heavy areas or modifying signal timing to reduce the time a vehicle spends idling.
Assistant Research Professor of Planning Nicole Iroz-Elardo and Ash Avila manage data collection using Kestrel devices for a vehicle heat study.
What do you like best about the SBE program and College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture?
There’s so much to love about the SBE program. I’ve loved every class I’ve had to take and I love how the curriculum is structured. But most importantly, the faculty is wonderful. I’ve had the chance to have so many great conversations with my teachers in the SBE program. They care so much about their students and about the field they’re involved with.
What has been your biggest challenges at college so far, and how have you overcome those challenges?
I changed my major a few months ago during the pandemic. There was a bit of friction as I tried to figure out how to balance and connect all the past work I had done in my old major, but it all worked out through lots of communication and emailing.
A big challenge of having joined CAPLA as a sophomore and during the pandemic was meeting other students. Connecting with other students through an online platform is also so different from connecting with students in person. So far, all of my CAPLA classes have been online. Many of my teachers had been prepared for online teaching because many SBE courses had been previously offered online and I had a great experience being in their classes. But I missed interacting with other students in person. I would stay after class on Zoom with other students to chat for a bit to replicate the “walking out of a classroom” experience. When it was safe to do so, I also went to small in-person events and club meet-ups.
What internships or other job experience do you have, and what are your career aspirations?
I occasionally work in a lab within the Department of Civil Engineering. I started out as a lab trainee in the Smart Transportation Lab back in Spring 2020 and then became an undergraduate research assistant in the fall. I learned a lot about traffic signal timing, traffic safety and data analysis. When I decided to change my major, I was worried that it would affect being a part of the lab, but the lab director made sure to reach out in support. I still help out on a few projects and it’s so much fun, especially as someone who’s passionate about all things regarding transportation.
In the future, I want to have a career in building up sustainable transportation. I'm not sure yet if that'll be in light rail or bus systems or cycling. It's urgent to get people to move away from personal vehicles, especially as we begin to see more changes in our environments due to climate change. In general, I would just love to work on improving transit connectivity or on any sort of active transportation planning.
Ash Avila collects data at the UArizona Vaccination Pod in March 2021.
What does the CAPLA experience mean for you?
The CAPLA experience is about finding ways to improve our built environment. Everyone I’ve met in CAPLA is incredibly creative and you’re often surrounded by good ideas and great designs. Not only that, but being in CAPLA means having lots of access to the coolest portions of campus. The CAPLA Building itself is beautiful and is located right by the Underwood Sonoran Garden and the Sonoran Pentapus, both of which are my favorite spots on campus. These are perfect spots to meet up with friends, read a book or even listen in on a lecture.
What advice do you have for prospective SBE students?
Go to guest lectures. There are so many interesting lectures that different colleges at the U of A help put together. I’ve gone to several of the lectures from the CAPLA Lecture Series. Sometimes, they offer lunch or snacks too (when in person), so that’s always a bonus. Lectures are always a great way to learn something new and meet faculty or professionals in your desired field. Overall, get involved, attend events and talk to your professors!
