Prajna Rao is a PhD student in the School of Community and Regional Planning and is interested in infrastructure politics and everyday life in the city. Her doctoral research explores the relationship between transit infrastructures and urban ecologies in Mumbai, India. Prior to joining the program, she worked with city governments in central India to deliver and improve sustainable urban transit services. She has also worked on diverse community projects in India, Kenya and Zimbabwe. In Harare, she assessed the impacts of subsidized housing on overcrowding in low income households in and around the city. She worked on a similar project in Nairobi, where she led local youth groups in identifying design strategies for community improvement. Her work in Mumbai includes urban renewal plans for the inner city and decongestion proposals for railway station areas through collaborations with vendor communities.
Prajna holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Mumbai University, and a master’s degree in Regional Planning from Cornell University, NY.