I am an architect and urbanist with a keen interest in creating cities that thrive on the synergies between people, places and technology. I have led several organizations, most notably India's National Institute of Urban Affairs (2013-16), where I co-created the HRIDAY programme for heritage cities and the Smart Cities Mission. I incubated the Climate Centre for Cities and the Centre for Digital Governance at NIUA. The Draft Master Plan for Delhi 2041 was produced under my leadership, including the drafting of policies for Transit-Oriented Development, Land Pooling and Green Area Development. I have worked in the UK Government as a Senior Infrastructure Adviser (2019-21), and at the World Bank (2022-23) as a Senior Advisor (Capacity Building). I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) in New York and member of several initiatives at the national thinktank NITI Aayog.
EDUCATION
M. Phil. in History, Theory & Criticism, Columbia University, New York, 1995-97
Master of Science in Architecture, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, 1993-95
Bachelor of Architecture, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi, 1985-90
PUBLICATIONS
Books
- Author, Contemporary Indian Architecture, Roli Books, New Delhi, 2008
- Co-author, Building Beyond Borders: a story of Modern Indian Architecture, National Book Trust, 1995
Book chapters
- ‘Getting a grip on green: Indian cities and the promise of sustainability, resilience, inclusion’, in India in the 21st Century, ed. Markus H.P. Mueller, Springer Verlag, 2024
- ‘Transforming Urban India’ in Making of New India: Transformation Under Modi Government, eds. Bibek Debroy, Anirban Ganguly and Kishore Desai, Wisdom Tree, New Delhi, 2019, pp 241-50
- ‘Possible impacts of the BRICS Partnership on Urbanization in India’ in The BRICS Partnership: Challenges & Prospects for Multilevel Government, ed. Nico Steytler, Cape Town, 2018, pp 132-42
- ‘Steering Urban India’, in Shaping Cities in an Urban Age, eds. Ricky Burdett and Philipp Rode, Phaidon Press, London, 2018, pp 361-68
- ‘Smart Governance’, in Governing Urban Futures, eds. Ricky Burdett and Philipp Rode, Phaidon Press, London, 2014
Journals
- ‘The Adaptation Wedge: Capacity-Building Scenarios for India’s Cities’, Midwest Social Science Journal, July 2024
- ‘Monetize the Urban Multiplier: A Study of India’s National Infrastructure Pipeline and National Monetization Plan’, Environment and Urbanization ASIA, Vol 13, No. 1, pp 73–85, 2022, with Raghu Dharmapuri Tirumala
- ‘Implementing the SDGs in India as Contribution to Adopting the New Urban Agenda’, BBSR Journal, Germany, No. 3, 2017
- ‘Why the Smart Cities Movement Will Change Indian Cities Profoundly’, Urbanet, 14 August 2018
- ‘The Advent of Smart Cities in India’, Asian Research Policy Journal, Vol. 9, 2018, pp 96-109
Article
- ‘Why India needs a national plan for building new cities’, The Hindustan Times, May 26, 2025
- ‘Reinventing ‘Housing for All’’, Financial Express, Feb 3, 2024
- ‘India’s coastal future needs safeguarding. District networks can help build resilience’, The Print, Jan 19, 2024
- ‘Focus on public transportation to improve productivity’, Mint, Jan 19, 2024
- ‘Green procurement can make Indian cities healthy and liveable’, Eco-Business, 24 Mar 2023
- ‘How to Make India’s Urbanization Better for the Planet’, The Breakthrough Institute, 11 Jul 2022, with Sam Downes and Saurabh Modi
- ‘Fixing India’s cities needs cutting the Gordian Knot’, First Post, 9 Jan 2020
Refereed Conference Proceedings
- ‘Rapid Urbanization in India: The Challenge of Planning the Mega-cities’, Proceedings of the BRICS Academic Forum, Brazil, 2014
Reports of research/consulting projects
- Localising Green Transitions in India, Artha Centre for Emerging Cities, April 2022, with Sam Downes and Saurabh Modi
CURRENT TEACHING
Prof. Shah is developing a course on smart cities, transportation and mobility, to be offered in 2027.
CV
Click here to find the attached CV.
