Enessa Janes

Sustainable Urban Infrastructure
University of Colorado, Denver


I am a first year Ph.D. student in the department of Architecture and Planning. It is so exciting to have been given the opportunity to pursue my interests and strengthen my technical skills in a rigorous, interdisciplinary way! The intersection between built spaces, people, and the environment has always been an interest of mine and the IGERT in Sustainable Urban Infrastructure is a unique opportunity to explore these connections in an effort to tackle the problems associated with our planet's swelling cities. I received my B.S. from Stanford University in Earth Systems: Land Management and went on to get my M.S. in Environmental Communication and Journalism, also from Stanford. I have conducted research on sustainability, community, and the developing world in Vanuatu, The Republic of Kiribati, and Fiji. My research focused on renewable energy projects and their sustainability with respect to community structures, values, and participation. More recently, my interests have narrowed further after a water quality monitoring project took me to Mongolia. Here I was exposed to the unique sustainability and planning issues of rapidly growing Ulaanbaatar and I witnessed truly interesting connections between culture, design, and engineering. I am interested in pursuing questions about social sustainability and urban transitions and their connections to planning, the environment, and sustainable infrastructure. I also look forward to continuing my work internationally.

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