SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH THE LENS OF AN URBAN PLANNER: HARSHEETA GUPTA

Planning, like many professions with a broad and metaphorically rich name, has a long history spanning centuries. However, the origins of modern city planning can be traced back to the late 19th century. This was a period when the increasing complexity and disorder of industrial life prompted a response, and city planning emerged as a way to bring order to urban environments. Urban planning is an important field that focuses on the development and design of urban environments, including the physical, social, and economic aspects of cities. In recent years, urban planners from India have been making a significant impact in the field, with many of them working on projects around the world. One notable young Indian Urban Planner is Harsheeta Gupta, who is currently working in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Urban design and planning are based on the extensive development of an entire city or town by urban planners, taking into account the people, infrastructure, and required open spaces that promote interaction of all these factors harmoniously. At the same time, an effective city plan entails an aesthetic component. Maintaining a suitable and sustainable built-to-unbuilt ratio is essential in urban planning because it affects everything from daily commute convenience to living sustainably with a small patch of greenery at every intersection.

One of the key challenges that urban planners are facing today is bringing communities together to develop a place in a way to enhance urban vitality and sustainability for the future. Indian urban planners are at the forefront of addressing these challenges, both in their home country and abroad. With her extensive knowledge of urban planning, Harsheeta has established herself as a prominent figure in the field and currently serves as a Transit Program Manager with WSP USA. Her primary objective is to develop innovative transportation solutions that promote sustainability. With the world moving towards information technology, Harsheeta is currently working on high visibility real-time passenger information projects that impact hundreds of thousands of people on daily basis who ride the public transit. This real-time data empowers commuters with the knowledge to make informed decisions about their journeys, effectively reducing uncertainty and enhancing the overall travel experience.

She grew up in the city of lakes and hills, Bhopal, where city planning is aligned with nature’s beauty and the place which sparked the interest about Urban Planning in her. “My greatest inspiration is my surroundings and community needs. My design philosophy is to create something that fits seamlessly into the essence of the city”, she says. 

Most of the Urban Planners in India have their roots belonging to other professions like Architecture, Engineering or Journalism. However, there are only handful of people who have built their career in Urban Planning only, and Harsheeta is one of them. She started her Planning career from a highly prestigious institute, Center for Environmental Planning and Technology and obtained higher education in Planning from Rutgers University in the United States. During her professional tenure in India, Harsheeta worked on several placemaking projects for community inclusion across the country. She contributed her expertise in the project of national importance, ‘Green Rameswaram’. She worked on the city’s redevelopment plan, which is one of the four main pilgrimage spots in India. Her main idea behind this project was to rebuild the city in a way that does not compromise the integrity of the 12thcentury temple. She proposed ideas like heritage walks, development of special zoning for cultural and ecotourism land use, and development of museums to retain the essence of the heritage city.  

According to Harsheeta, community engagement is crucial to urban planning. “Planning is all about cities, and cities are all about people”, she says. Her interest in public welfare is also reflected in her work on the leather labor market in Dharavi, which is one of the largest slums in the entire world prone to demolishment. She held the argument that Dharavi, being a slum area, has an organic built-fabric, where the neighborhood is self-sustainable. She became the voice of hundreds of workers in Dharavi, who earned their bread through these small manufacturing units growing in Dharavi. Besides working for community welfare, Harsheeta also proposed a project at Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority where she developed dedicated bus lanes for rapid public transportation. Given that cities are frequently designed with a focus on automobiles, the talented urban planner was eager to apply her expertise towards identifying sustainable alternatives.

In the United States, Harsheeta started working as a planner in New York City where she worked on LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy Airport redevelopment projects to redesign the roads around the airport terminal. Harsheeta was responsible for creating the base map and led traffic flow analysis reports daily. Harsheeta not only restructures existing infrastructures in her projects but also plays a critical role in shaping their future vision. Recently, also spearheaded the preparation of socio-economic equity analysis for the transition plan of fuel-based buses to zero-emission buses in New Jersey, who aim to change their entire bus fleet by the year 2040. Harsheeta has always focused on combining sustainability and accessibility. She is a firm believer of incorporating diverse modes of transportation to achieve sustainable practices and establish an affordable, accessible, and secure transit network that fosters community integration.

Harsheeta is a thriving Urban Planner who emphasizes on community well-being and works on developing cities with an aim for a sustainable future. She is a proactive problem solver who takes pride in serving her community. She sees her work as a delicate balance between preserving her city's traditions and preparing for the future's challenges. Urban Planning involves interacting with a multitude of different perspectives which can often result in conflicting opinions. Nevertheless, Harsheeta skillfully navigates these differences by incorporating diverse perspectives and learning from them. There are many other Indian urban planners who are making a global impact and she is one amongst them. Her vision remains to promote innovative solutions that accelerate the world’s development towards sustainability.

For more about Harsheeta Gupta, visit her LinkedIn profile.

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