College of Architecture + the Arts student Vanessa Alvarado, Master of Landscape Architecture candidate has received one of the Sigma Alpha Lambda 2014 Graduate Travel Grants ($500). Alvarado will apply this scholarship to her excursion to Toronto, where she will document research on cycling systems.
“Through the support of the Sigma Lambda Alpha travel grant,” said Alvarado, “I am able to advance my education in landscape architecture [by] researching the use of cycling systems in urban parks, and how cycling systems may be integrated in world-renowned bike-oriented cities, such as Toronto and Copenhagen.” Alvarado will conduct her research through surveys and photography of the city’s bicycle routes. She will also study the integration of parks into the cycling system in Toronto. “Cycling systems that integrate into urban parks not only can reduce automotive traffic, but can also promote healthy living in surrounding communities. An eco-friendly cycling system can help reduce pollution, while increasing the use of green open spaces for recreation of human interaction within the open landscapes.”
Alvarado considers it a special opportunity to research abroad and beyond the FIU campus. “I would like to expand and continue my research on cycling infrastructure internationally,” she said. “I can read many books on existing cities around the world with great alternative transportation practices but nothing can compare to experiencing [it] in person. I am very excited and look forward to this amazing opportunity and would like to come back to the United States to share my experience and documented research with my colleagues and faculty in the Landscape Architecture program.”
Sigma Alpha Lambda is the honor society of Landscape Architecture. Its purpose is “[t]o encourage, recognize, and reward academic excellence in preparation for the profession of landscape architecture.” (Source: Association of College Honor Societies)
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