Abigail Reynolds won the Community Choice Award for her research into how historical redlining continues to impact climate and social vulnerabilities in the United States.
This first year Honors College student, biology major, and Philadelphia native is passionate about this topic because she has seen it firsthand growing up. “Something that is disheartening to me is how your area code determines your success in the future,” she said. “That systemic process is really problematic and hard to see, especially when you live in the middle of it.”
Reynolds proposed the development of a new geographic information system that will enable users to visualize the intersections between historical redlining maps, current environmental justice data, social vulnerability indices, and census data.
She is planning on applying for an Office of Student Creative Activities and Research grant to continue the project. She explained, “Everyone is impacted by urban environments. It is where a lot of the density in our population lies, and the fact that many urban environments face these issues of racial segregation and disproportionate exposure to vulnerabilities is really impactful.”
Reynolds is passionate about the environment and urban planning, which is what she is planning to pursue after graduation. The research skills she developed in the first-semester Honors College Principles of Research and Inquiry -- in which she developed this proposal -- prepare her for further undergraduate research and her subsequent professional career.