Jaya Dhindaw

Interim Director, WRI India Ross Centre and Program Director, Integrated Development, Planning and Resilience

Bio

Jaya is an urban development professional and researcher with over two decades of global experience in sustainable development, urban resilience and natural resource management. She provides strategic leadership to all urban development, and planning and resilience initiatives across WRI India and is currently also the Interim Director of WRI India’s Sustainable Cities program.

A systems thinker, Jaya is always looking at ways to integrate data and science into policy and development initiatives. Prior to WRI India, Jaya worked for the Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transport and Urban Planning (CISTUP) at the Indian Institute of Science, leading the urban planning and infrastructure development team. Along with donning many hats, she has also worked with the City of Charlotte for over 8 years, first with the transit system and then with the planning department, championing strategic and local area plans, compact growth policies, economic development initiatives and modernizing development regulations.

A published author, Jaya earned her undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Pune and holds a Master’s in City Planning from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. She also studied community planning, with a focus on environmental policy and planning, from the University of Cincinnati. In addition to her WRI India commitments, Jaya serves as a Managing Associate Editor for the Journal of Sustainable Urbanization, Planning and Progress (Whioce Publishing, Singapore) and currently resides in Bengaluru with her family.

Blogs

How Vulnerable is Indian Manufacturing to Climate Risks?
by Pavan Ankonapalli and Jaya Dhindaw - May 23, 2023
This is the first in a series of three blog posts that looks at three manufacturing sectors –pharmaceuticals, chemicals and automobiles – the climate risks that they face, and proactive measures that can help climate-proof these critical economic clusters.

Over the last decade, the Government of India has introduced a slew of initiatives such as the Make in India and
5 Ways India Can Use Innovation to Meet Its Urbanization Challenge
by Madhav Pai and Jaya Dhindaw - January 27, 2023
Shaping efficient and equitable urban service delivery for sustainable growth

India is projected to overtake China as the most populous country in the world this year. The shifting demographics are bound to see heightened demand for education, healthcare, jobs, and civic amenities, putting existing systems under stress. Current urban services delivery models,
Resurrecting Public Spaces in a post-Covid India
by Himanshi Kapoor, Prerna Vijaykumar Mehta and Jaya Dhindaw - October 26, 2021
This blog was first published on NIUA.org on October 21, 2021.

The COVID-19 lockdown, imposed around the world, has triggered unprecedented changes in the
Operationalising Nature-based Solutions: innovative approaches to financing ecosystem restoration
by Priya Narayanan and Jaya Dhindaw - June 04, 2021
Climate related disasters and inequities may push more than 100 million people in developing countries below the poverty line by 2030. This makes mainstreaming climate change mitigation and adaptation an absolute imperative for protecting ecological, social, and economic systems. Cities
Urban Greening for Cooling Cities
by Priya Narayanan and Jaya Dhindaw - March 19, 2021
Over the past two decades, extreme temperature events have increased in frequency and severity around the world. The number of people exposed to heat waves has increased by approximately 125 million across the globe. It is estimated that 39% of the global work hours lost due to acute heat were in India alone
A nature-based solution for healthy, resilient cities
by Jaya Dhindaw and Priya Narayanan - January 08, 2021
This blog originally appeared on Business India.

Till early March, most global reports indicated that
India Must Plan New Strategy for Cities to Reap Full Benefits of ‘Self-Reliance’ Initiative
by Pavan Ankonapalli and Jaya Dhindaw - August 17, 2020
This article was originally published on News18 on 28 July.

While announcing a stimulus package of INR 20 lakh crore ($260 billion) in his address to the nation on May 12, India’s Prime Minister
Reconfiguring public spaces within the new normal
by Prerna Vijaykumar Mehta and Jaya Dhindaw - May 19, 2020
A slightly modified version of this piece appeared on Times blog on May 11.

Social distancing, isolation and locking down of cities and oneself is the norm in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. With this, inequality in cities has been laid bare,
Building Back Better: A time to Introspect on Innovation in Public Service Delivery
by Jaya Dhindaw and Aarathi Kumar - May 18, 2020
The COVID-19 health crisis and associated lockdown has thrown into plain view the fragility of existing systems, from healthcare and governance, to the gig economy and global markets. With people confined to their homes and restricted mobility, cities are working to not only manage and contain the spread of the disease but also ensure a consistent, efficient and reliable supply of basic
Paving the way for Swachh Bharat 2.0
by Jaya Dhindaw and Aarathi Kumar - June 06, 2019
At the current rate of urbanisation and industrial growth in the country, India will need a 32 feet high landfill site equivalent to the size of Bengaluru to manage its waste. According to the World Bank, in 2010, India was generating approximately 1.1 lakh tonnes of waste every day,

Publications

Our Journey with the City: Deciphering WRI India Ross Center’s Influence in Bengaluru
WRI India Ross Center for Sustainable Cities (previously EMBARQ India) has maintained a presence in Bengaluru since 2010. It has served as a key change agent for sustainable development, starting with mobility and moving more broadly to urban development, related services such as energy and...
by Radha Chanchani, Jaya Dhindaw, Robin King and Madhav Pai - July 2023

Publication
Topics: Sustainable Cities
Geography: India
Accelerating Innovation in Urban Service Delivery in Indian Cities: Lessons from TheCityFix labs India
Amidst a rapidly expanding population, Indian cities are unable to keep pace with the growing demand for efficient and adequate urban services especially in the sectors of water, waste and energy. This practice note looks at the WRI India approach of developing a powerful value accelerator...
by Jaya Dhindaw, Aarathi Kumar and Monica Jain - August 2021

Publication
Synergizing Land Value Capture and Transit-Oriented Development: A Study of Bengaluru Metro
The Government of Karnataka and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation are exploring ways to offset the heavy economic burden of expanding the metro rail transit network in Bengaluru. Land value capture (LVC) is a public financing strategy that can recover a portion of the real estate value that...
by Jaya Dhindaw, Sree Kumar Kumaraswamy, Radha Chanchani, Surya Prakash and Amartya Deb - June 2021

Publication
Encouraging Design Practices for Sustainable Mobility in India: A Guidebook
Encouraging Design Practices for Sustainable Mobility in Indian Townships: A Guidebook, is WRI India’s publication that highlights the role of urban design interventions that can be applied in townships or gated communities in cities, that promote the use of sustainable modes such as walking,...
by Anjali Mahendra, Jaya Dhindaw, Madhav Pai, Saritha Sudhakaran and Lakshmi Rajagopalan - April 2017

Publication
Topics: Sustainable Cities
Geography: India

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Jaya Dhindaw

How Vulnerable is Indian Manufacturing to Climate Risks?

5 Ways India Can Use Innovation to Meet Its Urbanization Challenge

Resurrecting Public Spaces in a post-Covid India

Operationalising Nature-based Solutions: innovative approaches to financing ecosystem restoration

Urban Greening for Cooling Cities

A nature-based solution for healthy, resilient cities

India Must Plan New Strategy for Cities to Reap Full Benefits of ‘Self-Reliance’ Initiative

Reconfiguring public spaces within the new normal

Building Back Better: A time to Introspect on Innovation in Public Service Delivery

Paving the way for Swachh Bharat 2.0

Our Journey with the City: Deciphering WRI India Ross Center’s Influence in Bengaluru

Accelerating Innovation in Urban Service Delivery in Indian Cities: Lessons from TheCityFix labs India

Synergizing Land Value Capture and Transit-Oriented Development: A Study of Bengaluru Metro

Encouraging Design Practices for Sustainable Mobility in India: A Guidebook

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