Geeta Mehta is an Indian-American social entrepreneur,

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban de ...

er, architect and author. She is the co-founder of Asia Initiative, and URBZ, and an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation at Columbia University.

Early life and education

Mehta was born in Simla, India. She earned her bachelor's degree in Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, a master's degree in Architecture and Urban Design from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and a doctorate in Urban Engineering from the University of Tokyo.

Career

Mehta is an adjunct professor of architecture and urban design at the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation at Columbia University in New York City. She is also a research affiliate at the Center for Sustainable Urban Development at Columbia Climate School. Until 2009, Mehta was a professor of architecture at the Temple University campus in Tokyo. She founded with business partner Jill Braden the interior design firm Braden & Mehta Design located in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

and New York City. The blend of Western and Asian influences appear in the firm's work throughout U.S., Vietnam, and India as well for various corporations and private homes. Mehta appeared in ''Citizen Jane: Battle for the City'', a full-length documentary film about activist Jane Jacobs directed by Matt Tyrnauer. Mehta, in the film, warned that global development, without the philosophies of Jacobs, could result in "the slums of the future". She was appointed in 2018 by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to serve on the Waterfront Management advisory board. She has spoken on social capital,

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

and equitable

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, which is the profession focusing on the physical design and m ...

, and community-based change at forums in Australia, Austria, Brazil, India, Japan, UAE and the US, including the Public Ideas Form in Perth, Australia, and the Post City event at ARS Electronica in Linz, Austria. She also served as a panelist at WomenDeliver in Copenhagen, Denmark and the Women's Summit in Sharjah organized by UN Women. She serves on the board of WomenStrong International, The Center for the Living City, and Friends of University of Tokyo. She previously served on the advisory board of the Millennium Cities Initiative of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and People Building Better Cities.

Asia Initiatives

Inspired by Prof.

M. S. Swaminathan Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (born 7 August 1925) is an Indian agronomist, agricultural scientist, plant geneticist, administrator and humanitarian. Swaminathan is a global leader of the green revolution. He has been called the main architec ...

, a scientist and humanist, Geeta and Krishen Mehta co-founded Asia Initiatives in 1999 in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Since 2010 it has been registered as a 501(c)(3)

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

in New York City. As advised by Prof. Swaminathan, all Asia Initiatives projects are pro-poor, pro-environment and pro-women. These include projects in education, up-skilling, nature based agriculture, climate resilience, healthcare and micro credit in underserved areas with NGO and/or government partners in India, Kenya, Taiwan and the United States. The M.S. Swaminathan Award, instituted in 2014, was presented at the Asia Initiatives Annual Galas to the economist Jeffrey Sachs (2014),

Indra Nooyi Indra Nooyi (née Krishnamurthy; born October 28, 1955) is an Indian-American business executive and former chief executive officer and chairperson of PepsiCo. She has consistently ranked among the world's 100 most powerful women. In 2014, sh ...

for steering

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

towards Performance with Purpose (2015), Kerry Kennedy for her work on human rights (2016), and Dr. Mattoo for his commitment to educational causes (2016). The 8th Secretary General of the United Nations,

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

, is a patron of Asia Initiatives. In his honor, Asia initiatives instituted the Ban Ki-moon Award for Women's Empowerment in 2017. The recipients of the award have included Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Paul Polman, Ms. Gloria Steinem, Ms. Yue Sai Kan,

Pat Mitchell Pat Mitchell (born January 20, 1943) was the first woman president and CEO of PBS and is a media executive. She is editorial director of TEDWomen . Early life Pat Mitchell graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia with bachelor' ...

Ricky Kej Ricky Kej (born 5 August 1981 - Dhaka, Bangladesh) is a multi-Grammy Award-winning Indian music composer and environmentalist. He has performed at venues in over 30 countries including at the United Nations headquarters in New York and Geneva. ...

, Ms. Eva Haller, Prof. Chelsea Clinton,

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (born 23 March 1953) is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur. She is the executive chairperson and founder of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited, a biotechnology company based in Bangalore, India and the former chair ...

Mitzi Perdue
Dr. Susan Blaustein, Ms. Kathy Matsui, Cecile Richards, Dr. Madhura Swaminathan and Dr. Lee Bae-yong.

SoCCs (Social Capital Credits)

Mehta is the innovator of Social Capital Credits (SoCCs), a community currency for social good to help communities climb out of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

. People earn SoCCs by helping their communities according to the SoCCs menus created by them during SoCCratic dialogues, and redeem them for education, healthcare, up-skilling and micro-credit. The SoCCs team at Asia Initiatives works with communities to customize SoCCs menus to their specific needs and capabilities during the SoCCratic dialogues. SoCCs Earning Menus include items such as sending children (especially daughters) to

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...

, providing childcare or senior care, switching to regenerative agriculture, helping make rainwater harvesting structures, planting trees, and paving streets. iSoCCs Redemption Menus include items such as school fees, skill training classes, home repairs and telephone talk time. CommSoCCs can then be used for common projects such as a micro-

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...

system, improvements to streets or public spaces, or child-care centers. A local SoCC Manager is trained to work with the community. Mehta has appeared in articles in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' and Huffington Post which describe the creation and use of SoCCs in greater detail. Asia Initiatives was among the six winners of the Amravati Happy Cities competition in April 2018, and had signed an MoU with the government of Andhra Pradesh to implement SoCCs in this new city. In 2019, SoCCs received Fast Company's 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards, MIT Inclusive Innovation Award in 2019 for the Asia Region category. In 2020, Asia Initiatives received awards from MIT SOLVE, General Motors, Vodafone and Experian. In 2021, Asia Initiative received the Jacobs Foundation Conference Grand Innovation prize.

URBZ

With

urban planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

Matias Echanove and urban anthropologist Rahul Srivastava, Mehta co-founded URBZ: User Generated Cities, a research collective that focuses on participatory urban planning and design systems. URBZ was named one of the 100 most influential names in architecture in the world by the magazine ''Il Giornale dell'Architettura''.

Bibliography

* ''City Connect: Regeneration, Sustainability and Equity in the 21st Century'', released in 2016 by Arch-media Inc. and co-edited with George Kunihiro * ''New Japan Architecture'', published in 2011 by