Student Projects
The Hart Leadership Program has a long history of exemplary student work, and we are proud to showcase here a selection of student research projects, internships, and honors theses dating back to 2011. Below, you can explore nearly 400 student projects, filtering by project type, Hart program affiliated with the project, thematic topics, project locations, and project years. The database does not provide the full text of students' projects, but it does provide abstracts of student work wherever available, as well as more information including students' class year and, when applicable, the name of the community partner organization a student worked with to conduct their internship or research. We will continue to expand the database as our students continue conducting phenomenal projects. In the meantime, use the search function below to explore our incredible students' work, and get inspired!
Topic: The Built Environment, Housing, & Land Use
Community Land Trusts: Developing a Theory of Change
I researched the Durham Community Land Trust’s theory of change in order to develop my own theory of change. Land is, and has always been, a significant source of economic, social, and political power. In the past four decades, the Durham Community Land Trust has become on of the most …
A Guide to Building Diverse Hubs for the Sunrise Movement
Research Question: Why are regional hubs for the Sunrise Movement overwhelmingly white and wealthy, and how can these hubs diversify and include more perspectives at the table?
When Place Matters: History of Access to Healthcare and Mental Healthcare in Rural NC
“Place—a confluence of the social, economic, political, physical, and built environments—is fundamental to our understanding of health and health inequities among marginalized racial groups in the United States” –Sharrelle Barber For the past 14 weeks, I served as an administrative intern with the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ …
Community Land Trusts
I looked at Community Land Trusts as a form of social housing that solves rational choice collective action problems for communities of lower income. Full thesis abstract: The United States faces a crisis of affordable and stable housing. Even when either state or charity solves the affordability crisis, they fail …
Gentrification, Policing, and Other Pressing Issues in D.C.
[Abstract not currently available.]
Exploring the Many Pathways to Indigenous Land Guardianship
Quinn Smith (T’23) completed his Hart Fellowship with Nia Tero in Seattle, Washington as well as the Indigenous Leadership Initiative (ILI). Both organizations advance Indigenous land guardianship, which is the idea that Indigenous Peoples should maintain the ability to protect and steward the lands and waters they have known since …