Mayra Espinoza-Martinez '16

As a sociology concentrator, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the 2015 SEAS/Poli-USP Collaborative Field Course on Sustainable Cities. Not only was I exploring a new and exciting country, but I was also exploring a different approach to issues that I typically look at through only a sociological lens. During the extent of my time in Brazil, I was privileged enough to learn alongside passionate students and engineers regarding the various challenges São Paulo is currently facing in energy, sanitation, transportation, water, and more.

One of the aspects that I enjoyed most about the course was the group project, which included three team members from Harvard and three team members from the Poli-USP. I enjoyed this project because of the focus on cross-cultural exchange and personal innovation. My group’s topic was Urban Mobility, and it was really enlightening to discuss the differences between major American cities and Brazilian cities like São Paulo. As a sociology concentrator, it was interesting for me to learn that the degree and depth of urban planning at the time of our distinct cities’ foundings continues to have an effect today in where the rich and the poor typically live, whether it be the urban center or the more far-removed outskirts, and what that means in terms of how a city functions. I arrive at the conclusion that the physical layout of a city is just as impactful to the overall well-being of that city as is its economic and social makeup. During my time in São Paulo I began to think of how urban planning can be used as a starting point to reverse negative trends in poverty, homelessness, and access to clean water, reliable transportation, sanitation, etc. This is a question that I hope to continue exploring at Harvard.   

Mayra and the gang at the Atibainha Reservior

Overall, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in this program. I had a wonderful time learning about sustainability efforts in Brazil and exploring São Paulo with my new Brazilian and American friends!

Joanne Ngiem '15 at Aquapolo

Coming to Brazil was so important to me, not just because it would be my first time in Latin America, but because of the people I knew I would meet and love. This was my second year participating in this course. I took part of this course last year when it was held at Harvard and what surprised me the most was how quickly I had created close relationships. The Americans and Brazilians still communicate through WhatsApp to this day: sharing in our PTSD of eating Panera Bread for four days straight. So what I was most excited about was creating these same relationships with even more people: people I never would have met if not for this course. The Brazilians proved to be the most hospitable and kind and funny hosts I could hope for and when I come back to Brazil, which I will, I will definitely drink Caipirinhas with them all day and night (although you will be tempted by the fruity ones, stick with the classic lime, trust).

Joanne with André

Aside from the incredible people I got to know. This program is a unique experience because of the site visits: we were able to go to a water re-use treatment plant, see how wind turbines are made from start to finish (I touched the inside of one of the blades), and explore a drying reservoir. I also really loved how we completed a project on an extremely relevant topics for Sao Paulo such as water management and urban mobility. It was incredible how applicable this course was. We heard from actual entrepreneurs and were given advice that was really helpful to those of us who were interested in starting our own companies and wanting to make a real difference. The teaching staff who put together this course really worked hard to make a two-week program as meaningful as possible and it shows. I will never forget how amazing this trip was to me.

Danilo Amaral Cançado 3rd year and Rafael Ferraz do Amaral 2nd year

This course has been an amazing opportunity to learn and discuss about the sustainability in cities trough several approaches, such as water management, urban mobility, green buildings, energy distribution and extreme events. In addition, we got to know, in the site visits, efforts been made to solve the problems we face nowadays. With this background, we were able to develop our projects and came up with solutions.

Besides this technical part, we got in touch with people who share the same concerns and we could create a network with them.  Also, the cultural exchange between students from different place and both universities contributed more to our perspective of the city’s problems.

We believe that the knowledge we gain will definitely help us throughout our careers and for that we are very grateful.