Spring 2024 Sustainability Fellows: Geetanjali Srivastava and Miraa Shukla

Partner: GenCLEO

Project: Accessible and Sustainable Public Transportation in Tallahassee: Bus Stops & Solar Panels

Student: Geetanjali Srivastava and Miraa Shukla

Geetanjali Srivastava, a first year undergraduate in Political Science, and Miraa Shukla, a first year undergraduate in Interior Architecture and Design, worked together with Sam Kaddis and Nia Ogletree, from GenCLEO, to conduct research regarding Tallahassee’s public transportation sustainability.

The goal of the project was to conduct research based on other municipalities and public opinion to formulate solutions tailored specifically to Tallahassee to encourage reliability, accessibility, and efficiency of the bus system. Many of the bus stops do not have shade coverings, which can present a health issue during the summer, so the Fellows dove into the feasibility of adding shade coverings with solar panels.

Both students were excited by this project and hoped to make a difference in the community as they continue to determine next steps in their academic and professional careers. Geetanjali is interested in the connection between climate issues and social justice so this project was a perfect fit.

“I aspire to be a human rights lawyer. Although sustainability and human rights may not seem to have a direct connection, I think they go hand in hand. Human rights can be approached in many ways, and the climate crisis presents an abundance of human rights violations/crises. Even though I haven't decided what field of Human Rights I want to pursue, this internship helped me gain valuable insight in sustainable practices, especially from a policy-making standpoint.” Geetanjali said.

Miraa and Geetanjali looked into China’s sustainable urban development initiatives as part of their study. They found many innovative urban projects including, modular skyscrapers to minimize construction waste, traffic-jumping buses that travel above road traffic and use solar power, and solar-powered public infrastructure at bus stops. The Fellows also learned a lot about stakeholder engagement and how to incorporate it into any research project before implementation. 

“I think communication is definitely important, especially when doing a project that involves multiple members of the community. This experience taught me a lot about how to communicate, and that will definitely be useful as a hopeful architect because I will have to communicate with many people, like city commissioners and environmentalists among others, to ensure that my plans and projects get approved before I can officially execute them.” Miraa stated.

Miraa and Geetanjali came up with a preliminary plan for implementing more sustainable features throughout the city bus system. Ideally, the students would love to see their ideas presented to Star Metro, the city’s bus service company.

“This project holds great potential for making the City of Tallahassee more energy efficient and sustainable by implementing practices that are environment friendly.” said Geetanjali.

To learn more about Geetanjali and Mira's project, click here.

To learn more about the Sustainability Fellows program, visit sustainablecampus.fsu.edu/sustainability-fellows.