My name is Evan Klansnic, and I am a sociology student, researcher, and aspiring urban planner at the University of Utah. I am passionate about understanding how cities work, and how they often fall short for their residents.
Over the past year, my work has focused on how climate and the built environment shape everyday life in cities. Through the University of Utah’s Summer Program for Undergraduate Research, I used GIS, wearable sensors, and field audits to study how hot it feels to walk along West North Temple in Salt Lake City, and how different parking strip materials affect that experience. I’m now continuing this work with support from the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, studying how U.S. cities respond to extreme heat and poor air quality in their plans and public messaging. I’ve also guest lectured in an upper-division urban ecology course, where I talked with students about heat and air quality action plans and shared early findings from my research.
Northward has two jobs. As a portfolio, it hosts projects that shape my work, including research, maps, presentations, and other documents I cultivate. As a journal, it gives me a place to critically think about the world around me and develop new perspectives on urban life. It’s my version of the North Star: something steady to navigate by as my work expands into new questions, new cities, and new ways of understanding how people experience the places they live.
P.S. It’s also an excuse to take more architecture photos with my camera.
NORTHWARD 