About Indian Institute for Human Settlements

Aromar Revi has established himself as a pioneering figure in sustainable urban development as the founding Director of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), India's first prospective National University focused on urbanization. His academic foundation includes degrees from IIT-Delhi and the Law and Management schools of the University of Delhi. With over 35 years of interdisciplinary experience, he has emerged as a global thought leader in sustainable development, public policy, and climate science. His extensive work includes leading 125 major research and consulting assignments, publishing over 95 peer-reviewed publications, and helping structure development investments exceeding $8 billion across multiple countries. As Co-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), he successfully championed the inclusion of urban development in the UN's 2030 agenda through SDG 11. His expertise in climate science is evidenced by his role as Coordinating Lead Author of the 2018 IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. As one of South Asia's leading disaster mitigation experts, he has directed emergency teams for ten major natural disasters affecting over five million people. His influence extends across academia, policy, and practice, having lectured at over 90 universities worldwide and advised numerous governments and international organizations on sustainable

Amanda Thounaojam serves as a Senior Technical Associate at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), where she leads cutting-edge research in sustainable building design and energy efficiency. Her expertise spans multiple areas including thermal comfort, affordable cooling solutions, visual comfort optimization, and net-zero energy and water design. As the manager of Solar Decathlon India, she oversees the world's largest net-zero building challenge, while also serving as faculty for the Urban Fellows Programme at IIHS. Her academic credentials include an M.Tech in Building Energy Performance from CEPT University, where she received the Aluplast Best Capstone Project Award for her innovative research on HDR Photography applications in daylight assessment. Her international experience includes a prestigious position as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Oregon's Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory, funded by DST and IUSSTF, where she developed a prototype for HDR Imaging sensors for façade controls. Her current work focuses on integrating passive design approaches with IoT-based controls and developing sustainability dashboards with calibrated simulations.

Amir Bashir Bazaz serves as Lead-Practice at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), bringing extensive expertise in climate change adaptation and sustainable development. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Management with specialization in Public Systems from IIM Ahmedabad and a degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Roorkee. As Regional Research Lead for the Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) project, he oversees climate adaptation research across Africa and Asia through the IDRC/DfID funded CARIAA program. His research focuses on the intersection of economics, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development, with particular emphasis on urban-climate change linkages and environmental policy. His professional experience includes serving as National Expert Consultant to India's Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for UNFCCC communications, and teaching Development & Environmental Economics at Symbiosis International University. At IIHS, he leads multiple practice-based initiatives including Energy Innovation with Cambridge University, Ecosystem Services sustainability with Nature Conservancy India, and climate resilience projects supported by various international organizations. He regularly contributes to the Urban Fellows and Urban Practitioners Program while maintaining active involvement in disaster and climate resilience projects.

Archita Suryanarayanan brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to her role at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), combining expertise in architecture, urban studies, and journalism. Her diverse educational background includes degrees in architecture and urban studies, complemented by a diploma in journalism. As a seasoned writer and editor, she has contributed articles to leading media organizations including The Hindu, Mint, and The New Indian Express, focusing on urban planning, city development, and urbanism. At IIHS, she specializes in translating complex academic research into accessible public writing formats and provides comprehensive writing and editorial support. Her work includes developing and conducting training sessions on various forms of writing and editing, while also focusing on documentation and knowledge translation. Her expertise in distilling academic concepts into accessible formats has made her particularly effective in bridging the gap between academic research and public understanding of urban issues.

Ashok B Lall is a distinguished architect and educator who has shaped sustainable architecture in India since establishing his firm, Ashok B Lall Architects, in 1981. His academic foundation includes degrees in Architecture and Fine Arts from the University of Cambridge and a diploma from the Architectural Association, London (1970). His firm has earned international recognition for innovative contributions to sustainable design across various scales, from townships to individual buildings. Notable projects include the Development Alternatives World Headquarters in New Delhi, which showcases energy-efficient design principles and innovative cooling systems that reduce energy consumption by 30%. As an educator since 1990, he has significantly influenced architectural education in India, developing curricula focused on environmental sustainability. He has served in key positions including Chair for Design & Technology at KRVIA Mumbai and Dean of TVB School of Habitat Studies. His current work focuses on sustainable urban development strategies for rapidly urbanizing areas, with particular emphasis on affordable housing solutions. His contributions extend to policy-making through roles such as convener of the Delhi Urban Arts Commission Work group on Energy and coordinator of EU-funded programs for low-energy architecture.

Poonam Batra serves as Professor of Education at the University of Delhi, where she has made significant contributions to educational reform and policy development in India. Her expertise spans multiple domains including public policy in education, curriculum development, pedagogy, social psychology of education, teacher education, and gender studies. As a co-creator of the Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) program in the 1990s, she helped establish India's first four-year professional elementary teacher education program. Her distinguished career includes serving as a Nehru Memorial Fellow and member of the Indian Supreme Court's Commission on Teacher Education. Her recent research focuses on examining coloniality in Indian educational reform, comparative education imperatives, and the politics of school and teacher education reform. She has been instrumental in shaping national education policy through her role as co-author of key policy documents and her critical analysis of educational reforms, including the National Education Policy 2020. Her work consistently advocates for equitable and quality public education while addressing the challenges of teacher education in India's diverse linguistic and cultural context

Edgar Pieterse serves as Director of the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town and holds the South African Research Chair in Urban Policy. His expertise in African urbanization combines theoretical depth with practical understanding of how radical and rapid urban change impacts cities, countries, and continents. His research portfolio spans multiple interconnected areas including radical social economies, sustainable infrastructure, adaptive urban governance, urban innovation systems, and Southern urbanisms. As an educator, he leads the development of a groundbreaking Masters degree in Southern Urbanism, designed to nurture a new generation of urban scholars from Africa with a postcolonial perspective. His latest book, "New Urban Worlds: Inhabiting Dissonant Times," co-authored with AbdouMaliq Simone, examines global urbanization through the lens of everyday lives. His work uniquely combines academic rigor with practical urban solutions, while maintaining a focus on the complex realities of city life, particularly in the Global South. As founding director of the African Centre for Cities, he has established himself as a leading voice in urban studies, bridging theoretical frameworks with practical urban development challenges.

Juan Carlos Duque serves as a Full Professor in the School of Applied Sciences and Engineering at EAFIT University in Medellín, Colombia, where he founded and directs the Research in Spatial Economics (RiSE) group. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Business Studies from the University of Barcelona and an MSc in Economics and Business from Pompeu Fabra University. As a world-leading expert in region design and spatiotemporal analysis, he holds an affiliated faculty position at the Center for Geospatial Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. His expertise is recognized through his editorial board memberships at prestigious journals including the International Regional Science Review, Computers Environment and Urban Systems, and Computational Urban Science. His consulting portfolio includes work with major international organizations such as The World Bank, UN-Habitat, Inter-American Development Bank, and the European Commission, demonstrating the practical application of his research in spatial economics and regional development.

Kaavya Pradeep Kumar serves as Senior Associate at the Word Lab of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), bringing a unique combination of journalism expertise and climate policy knowledge. Her academic credentials include an MSc in Climate Change, Development and Policy from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, where her dissertation analyzed Indian media framing of international climate negotiations. Her professional journey includes five years of journalism experience, serving as an online news editor at Hindustan Times in New Delhi and as a staff reporter at The Hindu in Trivandrum, where she covered diverse beats including local politics, sanitation, education, and health infrastructure. At IIHS, she specializes in translating complex research into accessible formats and providing editorial support for academic publications. Her expertise in climate communication and environmental policy has led to roles at prestigious institutions including the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, where she served as Editorial Manager for the Centre for Social and Environmental Innovation.

Michael Keith serves as Director of the PEAK Urban Research programme and brings extensive experience in both academia and public service. His academic leadership includes serving as Director of the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at Oxford University until 2019, coordinating Urban Transformations for the Economic and Social Research Council until 2021, and co-directing the Oxford Programme for the Future of Cities. His research focuses on migration-related urban change, with recent publications including "Urban Transformations and Public Health in the Emergent City" and "African Cities and Collaborative Futures" (Manchester University Press), along with "The Unfinished Politics of Race" (Cambridge University Press, 2022). Beyond academia, he has twenty years of experience as a politician in London's East End, serving as a local authority leader and founding member of various urban regeneration initiatives. His commitment to social justice extends to decades of voluntary sector work, from addressing racism and criminal justice to co-founding and chairing the Rich Mix Cultural Foundation, the UK's largest multicultural arts centre.

Neave O'Clery serves as Associate Professor at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) at University College London, where she leads innovative research on cities as complex systems. Her academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Imperial College London, followed by prestigious positions as a Fulbright Scholar and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Center for International Development. Her research focuses on understanding cities through mathematical and spatial modeling, particularly examining economic development processes and knowledge accumulation patterns. Previously, she held the position of Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University's Mathematical Institute, where she continues as a Visiting Research Fellow. Beyond her research, she demonstrates leadership in academic publishing as founder and Editor-in-Chief of Angle, a journal she established in 2009 at Imperial College that bridges the gap between policy, politics, and science. Her work combines sophisticated mathematical modeling with practical urban development applications, making her a leading voice in quantitative urban studies.

Pengjun Zhao serves as Professor in Urban and Transport Planning at Peking University's Department of Urban and Regional Planning, where he also directs the Centre for Urban Planning and Transport Studies. As Editor-in-Chief of Cities (Elsevier), he plays a significant role in shaping academic discourse in urban studies. His research focuses on critical areas of urban transportation, including sustainable transportation systems, travel demand management, sustainable mobility solutions, and transport equality. His work at PEAK Urban includes leading research on the complex interactions between behavior, transport flows, and urban society, with the goal of developing policy scenarios for transitioning cities toward more sustainable forms of transport

Prasad Vaidya serves as Director of Solar Decathlon India while holding senior advisory positions at IIHS and AEEE, bringing three decades of expertise in sustainability and energy-conscious design. His career spans multiple continents, including significant work in India, USA, Middle East, and Korea, focusing on projects ranging from passive and low-energy design to net-zero buildings. His professional experience includes a partnership at The Weidt Group in the USA, where he provided energy and sustainability consulting for over 150 buildings, and establishing the Master's program in Building Energy Performance at CEPT University, where he served as Professor and Area Chair until 2019. His contributions to the field include extensive research publications and a textbook on integrated design for sustainability, while his expertise in energy policy and utility programs has influenced both US and Indian markets. As a board advisor to multiple institutions in India and director of the world's largest net-zero building competition, he continues to shape the future of sustainable building design and energy efficiency education, combining academic excellence with practical implementation experience.

Rekha Raghunathan serves as Lead of the Word Lab at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), where she plays a pivotal role in shaping the institution's editorial processes and knowledge dissemination strategies. Her expertise spans multiple areas of editorial work, including converting complex research into accessible data stories and op-eds for non-academic audiences, conducting substantive and copy-editing of IIHS publications, and implementing editorial processes across various teams. Her impact extends through her work on in-house publications, working papers, reports, and policy briefs. As an educator, she conducts writing workshops for both external and internal audiences and teaches writing skills in the Urban Fellows Programme. Her editorial expertise has contributed to the publication of articles in prestigious media outlets including The Hindu, Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), Scroll.in, The Wire, and IndiaSpend. Her work at the Word Lab has been instrumental in bridging the gap between academic research and public understanding through effective communication strategies.

Sanjay Prakash serves as Principal Consultant at SHiFt: Studio for Habitat Futures, where he leads innovative approaches to sustainable architecture and environmental design. His distinguished career spans over four decades, during which he has championed energy-conscious architecture, eco-friendly design, and participatory planning processes. His academic credentials include a B.Arch from the School of Planning & Architecture, where he graduated with top honors and received the best graduate gold medal. His work encompasses diverse projects including passive solar buildings, renewable energy campuses, and community-managed architecture across India. Notable projects include India's first solar town Nima Ling in Ladakh, the RETREAT facility for TERI in Gurgaon, and numerous institutional buildings incorporating sustainable design principles

Sreejith Jayaram serves as a Building Performance Researcher and Architect specializing in high-performance and net-zero building design. His expertise combines technical knowledge of building physics with practical applications in sustainable architecture. As a core team member of Solar Decathlon India (SDI), the world's largest Net-Zero Building competition, he plays a crucial role in shaping the next generation of sustainable building professionals. His contributions to SDI include overseeing the competition's review process and developing comprehensive Self-Learning Modules (SLMs) that cover essential concepts such as net-zero energy/water systems, embodied carbon calculation, building physics principles, thermal comfort optimization, and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). His work in educational content development has been particularly impactful, creating learning materials that bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application in sustainable building design. Through his volunteer work with SDI, he has helped establish standards for evaluating net-zero building designs while building capacity among students and professionals in sustainable architecture.

Susan Parnell serves as Deputy Principal Investigator with PEAK Urban and holds a Chair in Human Geography at the University of Bristol, while also maintaining her position as Emeritus Professor at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town. Her academic journey began with research in urban historical geography, focusing on racial residential segregation and colonialism's impact on urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa, before shifting after 1994 to contemporary urban policy research. Her current work spans local government, poverty reduction, and urban environmental justice, combining academic research with practical policy engagement. She has held prestigious positions including Leverhulme Visiting Professor at UCL, Emeka Anyaoku Visiting Chair at the University of London, and visiting professor at LSE Cities. Her extensive publication record includes over 150 peer-reviewed works, with recent books such as "Building a Capable State: Post Apartheid Service Delivery" and co-edited volumes "The Urban Planet" and "Implementing the SDGs in African Cities." Beyond academia, she actively engages with local and national governments, international donors, and serves on boards of NGOs focused on poverty alleviation, sustainability, and gender equity in post-apartheid South Africa, while also contributing to national and international advisory research panels on urban reconstruction.

Swastik Harish serves as a leading researcher and practitioner in urban development at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), specializing in housing for the urban poor, heritage planning, data visualization, and urban infrastructure provision. His groundbreaking work on rental housing has significantly influenced national policy, earning recognition in the 2015 draft National Urban Rental Housing Policy by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. His expertise spans both research and practical policy implementation, having played a crucial role in supporting the Government of Karnataka's affordable housing and slum development policies. As an educator in the Urban Practitioners Programme (UPP), he teaches across multiple sectors including housing, slum development, urban infrastructure, heritage planning, and data visualization. His research has been published in prestigious journals including Economic and Political Weekly, The Administrator, and the India International Centre journal. His contributions to understanding rental housing solutions for urban poor have made him a respected voice in urban policy circles, bridging the gap between academic research and practical policy implementation

Swati Puchalapalli brings 23 years of expertise in sustainable design, computational analysis, and environmental policy research to her role as Director of TerraViridis, a Sustainable Design Consultancy. Her approach combines vernacular architecture principles with data-driven simulation techniques to create high-performance, comfortable, Net Zero buildings. Her diverse portfolio includes sustainability consultancy, policy research, and training projects across multiple continents and building typologies. As a visiting faculty at prestigious institutions including CEPT Ahmedabad, Manipal University, and JNFAU Hyderabad, she shapes the next generation of sustainable design professionals. Her influence extends to policy development through her contributions to significant industry standards including ECBC 2023, ISHRAE guidelines for Building Envelope Design, GRIHA, GRIHA LD, and SVAGRIHA. Her role on advisory boards for Solar Decathlon India and JNFAU further demonstrates her commitment to advancing sustainable design education and practice. Her work consistently emphasizes the integration of passive architectural design principles with modern technological solutions, making her a leading voice in sustainable architecture and environmental policy in India.