Internships

Bryant Leung

2026 Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Bryant is an undergraduate student in Urban Studies at the University of California, Irvine, with academic and professional interests in sustainable urbanism, urban design, climate resilience, and the relationship between the built environment and public well-being. His work examines how planning and design interventions can reduce exposure to extreme heat, strengthen climate adaptation, and create more equitable, livable communities—particularly in Southern California and other rapidly urbanizing regions.

Through the Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab, Bryant intends to investigate how extreme urban heat is experienced in everyday life and how those experiences vary across neighborhoods, social groups, and geographic contexts. He aims to document the connections among urban form, mobility, access to shade and cooling, housing conditions, and environmental inequity, while communicating these findings through accessible visual and media-based storytelling. Ultimately, he hopes the lab will help him develop a stronger foundation for graduate study in architecture and planning and contribute to locally grounded design and policy strategies that make cities cooler, healthier, and more resilient.

Read more about Bryant’s work during his Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/bryant-leung/

Yiheng Ye

2026 Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Yiheng is a student in the Sustainable Built Environment, Energy, and Resources programme at UCL in London. His academic background is in developing sustainable cities through the perspectives of environmental and social sustainability, with a specialization in building energy and urban climatology. With his work in the ‘Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab’, he plans to gather perspectives on urban heat and its effects on mobility and lived experience in East Asian geographical contexts, which presents the need for unique and localized solutions to the effects of extreme urban heat.

Read more about Yiheng’s work during his Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/yiheng-ye/

Alisher Kulzhabayev

2026/27, Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Alisher is a research assistant at York University, with an academic and research background centered on urban planning, public space, transportation, and community well-being. His research has led to a development of interest in how the built environment shapes everyday experiences and how planning can support more resilient and inclusive communities. He is particularly interested in exploring urban heat through the intersections of public space, mobility, built form, and nature, and contributing a planning and research perspective to Pedestrian Space’s Sustainable Urbanism & Planetary Health initiative.

Read more about Alisher’s work during his Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/alisher-kulzhabayev/

Priyanshu Joshi

2026/27, Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Priyanshu is a B.Tech Civil Engineering student at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, with a growing interest in urban planning, infrastructure, mobility, and climate resilience. His interest in the URBAN HEAT pilot relates to how the built environment, infrastructure, mobility, and public spaces influence people’s exposure to and experience of heat, and how urban planning can respond to these challenges. Coming from a civil engineering background, he is interested in approaching urban heat from an infrastructure and urban-systems perspective while exploring how spatial and remote-sensing approaches can complement observations of the built environment and people’s everyday experiences, rather than looking at heat purely through technical measurements. Through the internship, he hopes to develop a research direction around urban heat and resilience in Indian cities, learning from perspectives across different disciplines, and contributing to collaborative research, case studies, and media outputs within the Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab.

Emma Maria Rossi

2026/27, Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Emma Maria is an MSc student in Socio-Ecological Economics and Policy at WU Vienna, where her research focuses on urban heat vulnerability and the social dimensions of climate adaptation. Emma ‘s internship for the ‘Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab’ pilot relates to questions driving her research: how cities identify who is most exposed to extreme heat, and how that knowledge translates into more equitable adaptation.

Read more about Emma Maria’s work during her Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/emma-maria-rossi/

Mahkameh Rezaeisalim

2026/27, Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Mahkameh is an interdisciplinary urban researcher based in Tehran with interests in urban health, walkability, participation, and women’s experiences of the city. She joins the ‘Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab’ with an interest in pairing her research in resilience and health with her current work on flânerie and urban experience, and shaping a research path to include urban heat. She is also interested in how heat resilience intersects with gendered experiences of public space in Iran and shaping awareness of ancient Iranian cooling approaches to mitigate heat.

Read more about Mahkameh’s work for her Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/mahkameh-rezaeisalim/

Sonora Ward

2026/27, Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Sonora Ward is a VUB MSc Urban Studies student and Global Studies graduate specializing in Sustainability science and dedicated to issues of climate change and social injustice, specializing in community-centered approaches to socio-environmental transformations.’  Her current focus is on how Nature-based Solutions can be co-designed in socially inequitable contexts to act as climate shelters for vulnerable residents, an emphasis aligning with the ‘Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab’ focus on heat’s relationship to meaningful green transitions and local and planetary health.

Read more about Sonora’s work during her Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/sonora-ward/

Zayaan Delawalla

2026/27, Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Zayaan has a background from his undergraduate work in Karachi on maternal and child health at the intersection of climate change, and experience working on multiple projects focusing on urban and rural disasters, including but not limited to extreme heat. He is currently based in Brussels, pursuing a Master’s of Urban Studies at VUB. His internship in the Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab will reflect the reality of unprecedented recent heat waves in Europe, increasing the relevance of extreme heat in urban practice and discourse on this continent as well.

Eva Chauveau

2026/27, Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Eva is an Urban Planner in Atlanta, Georgia, and an MSc student in Global Development at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has been specifically focusing on urban heat in the Metro Atlanta area and is working on an Urban Heat Mitigation and Action Plan for DeKalb County and views the network as an amazing learning opportunity to better understand how to
synthesize strategies for regions facing an urban heat crisis.

Read more about Eva’s work during her Pedestrian Space internship https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/eva-chauveau/

Julia Reich

2026/27, Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network  

Julia is a master’s student at Columbia Climate School, where her focus is on climate adaptation and mitigation measures, such as public transportation implementation. For her internship with the Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab, she will be analyzing urban heat through a public transportation lens, incoroporating elements of environmental justice, shaping awareness on how and what infrastructure can help reduce the harms of extreme heat and analyzing previous NYC/NYS policy on reducing extreme heat compared to the current administration. She is also interested in creating auto-ethnographies of heat in specific NYC neighborhoods.

Read more about Julia’s work during her Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/julia-reich/

Iqra Fatima

2026, Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Iqra Fatima is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.A. (Hons.) in Geography with a Minor in Economics at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. For her internship, she is interested in the production of heat-related disciplinary insights and bringing in a geographical and climate-focused perspective via a location-based case study, focusing on Delhi as a metropolitan city and the intersection of climate, urban geography, and urban heat.

Read more about Iqra’s work during her Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/iqra-fatima/

Serena Claggett

2026/27, Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab: International Internship Network

Serena is a bachelor’s student at Leiden University in the Netherlands, studying sociology with an emphasis on sustainable communities and a minor in economics. Serena reflected that as an intern for the Pedestrian Space ‘Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab’ project, she plans to develop knowledge that can make a difference in how people interact with their environments and refine her advocacy efforts for climate justice, urban mobility, and community development in embedded local contexts.

Read more about Serena’s work during her Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/serena-claggett/

Fizza Qasim

2026

Fizza is a Master of Planning in Urban Development student at Toronto Metropolitan University. Through her academic and professional experience, Fizza has developed a strong interest in advancing environmental sustainability alongside community development. Beginning in May 2026, she will undertake an internship focused on active transportation, green spaces, and the enhancement of public spaces. During her internship with Pedestrian Space, she will research and produce a short documentary examining projects across Toronto’s hydro greenspace corridors, with a focus on improving the design and implementation of trails, cycling infrastructure, and community gardens.

Read more about Fizza’s work during her Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/fizza-qasim/

Yuliia Polozova

2026

Yuliia is a master’s student within the EIT Urban Mobility Master School program, beginning her internship with Pedestrian Space in Spring 2026. Having lived in several different countries, she has developed a growing curiosity about how public space is experienced and understood across different local contexts.

Through her past work, Yuliia has seen how public space is planned, designed, and transformed; however, usually from a structural or technical perspective. Her internship at Pedestrian Space will allow her to approach the topic from a different angle by observing the ways in which people interact with public space during daily life and how storytelling influences the way urban innovations are perceived and discussed.

Yuliia’s current thesis work is focused on understanding the communication of urban changes in Poland as they unfold and the ways in which those contribute to the broader conversation around urban mobility in Europe.

Read more about Yuliia’s work during her Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/yuliia-polozova/

Savannah Siekierski

2025

Savannah pursued her internship at Pedestrian Space in Autumn 2025, as a Master’s student in Urban Studies at ULB/VUB in Brussels. Particularly interested in bridging the fields of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience with urbanism to explore how people feel, perceive, and connect to their environments, her research focuses on the subjective and sensory experience of urban space, with a special emphasis on walking as an embodied practice.

Savannah joined Pedestrian Space as an intern to align her academic interests in the psychology of urban experience with the organization’s focus on participatory advocacy and resident-centered urban perspectives. During her internship, she pursued research in Warsaw through methods such as auto-ethnography and walking interviews. Alongside her fieldwork, she also contributed a media diary reflecting on her process and offering insights into walkability and urban life.

Read more about Savannah’s work during her Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/savannah-siekierski/

Xi Chen

2025

Xi pursued his Industrial Placement at Pedestrian Space in Spring 2025 as an MA student in the Film & TV program at the School of Arts at the University of Bristol, further defining a documentary concept on a local community garden: Redcatch Community Garden.

Regarding his placement, Xi noted: “I chose Pedestrian Space for my industrial placement because of its commitment to raising awareness about sustainable urban mobility. Through this placement, I hope to develop compelling visual narratives that not only inform but also inspire positive change in urban mobility.”

Yujie Ni

2024

Yujie pursued her Industrial Placement at Pedestrian Space between May and July 2024 as an MA student in the Film & TV program at the School of Arts at the University of Bristol. During her placement time, she became an active volunteer at a local community garden in her community and produced the three short videos ‘Gardening at Easton Community Garden’ Part 1, Part II, and Part III while on a track of exploring sustainable community agriculture and urbanism.

The community garden Yujie volunteered at and also created media on is all organic, which is also aligned with Yujie’s own long-time mission of promoting organic food, which she worked on during her Bachelor’s in China. At our weekly meetings, it was such a treat to see her joy and enthusiasm with the diverse harvest from the garden each week!

Yujie also presented at a virtual webinar and workshop on ‘Building a narrative around the benefits and challenges of community agriculture‘ hosted by The Schumacher Institute in July 2024. Learn more about Yujie’s work and media produced during her Pedestrian Space industrial placement here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/yujie-ni/

Wenjiao Zhang

2024

Wenjiao pursued her Industrial Placement at Pedestrian Space between May and July 2024 as an MA student in the Film & TV program at the School of Arts at the University of Bristol. During her placement time, she produced the short documentary ‘Walking: Through the Lens‘ while on a track of exploring and depicting issues of sustainable mobility via film.

About her documentary, Wenjiao notes that “Many of the shots in this documentary were captured during my regular walks with a camera. There was no plan or purpose—just moments of beauty and interest that I came across while walking. This is also one of the joys of walking for me. The process of making this documentary made me reflect on my own spiritual life. It taught me the importance of being present and connecting with nature. Through these daily walking records, I discovered many details and beautiful moments that might otherwise be overlooked. Each walk became a journey of the soul, helping me find balance in a fast-paced life.” -Wenjiao Zhang

In 2025, Brinksway Cinema Brinksway Cinema featured Wenjiao’s documentary at their CLIMATE CUTS FILM EVENT: Sustainable Travel To Save The World?

Read more about Wenjiao’s work during her Pedestrian Space internship here: https://pedestrianspace.org/tag/wenjiao-zhang/