The potential for and politics of just transitions
My academic and advocacy interests lie in the domain of "just" sustainability transitions. I define these as the social, political and economic transformations required to create institutions, spaces, practices and processes that prioritize both social justice and ecosystem health.
As an activist-scholar with interdisciplinary training in political ecology and urban geography, I tackle this research agenda by studying the cultural and environmental politics of public policies and community initiatives that seek to 'green' urban environments, particularly in the mega-cities of emerging economies.
I produce community-engaged scholarship that seeks to contribute towards a systemic transition to a more sustainable and just world for more people. As part of my ethnographic research in Bangalore, I worked with Hasirudala, a waste picker cooperative, and a number of neighborhood associations. I cultivated enduring relationships with these communities and continue to collaborate with them on grant-writing, media, and outreach.
Broadly, my research has two strands- the first seeks to contribute to a growing body of research that examines urban environmental politics in India, with a specific focus on the cultural politics of sustainable consumption; and the second seeks to apply this research to explore how we can bring about just sustainability transitions in emerging economies. I am also beginning a new strand of research that looks at sustainable well-being in cities. You can also explore the links below to see some of my non-academic writing and some profiles of my research.
Non-academic writing by me
Segregation- a core concept in discard studies. Co-written article in the Discard studies compendium, written with Aman Luthra
In Bangalore, crisis in waste management forces change. My article in The Hindu about Bangalore's waste crisis and lessons for other cities
A day in the life of a waste picker. My article in The Alternative about waste work and waste picker rights
Talking waste with pourakarmikas, My article in The Alternative about what Bangalore's sanitation and conservancy workers think of the zero waste movement
Articles about my research
A politics of possibility. A blogpost on my research written by Liz Ivkovich of the Global Change and Sustainability Center, University of Utah
Its not easy being green. UC Berkeley's Social Science Matrix profile's my research in Bangalore
Segregation- a core concept in discard studies. Co-written article in the Discard studies compendium, written with Aman Luthra
In Bangalore, crisis in waste management forces change. My article in The Hindu about Bangalore's waste crisis and lessons for other cities
A day in the life of a waste picker. My article in The Alternative about waste work and waste picker rights
Talking waste with pourakarmikas, My article in The Alternative about what Bangalore's sanitation and conservancy workers think of the zero waste movement
Articles about my research
A politics of possibility. A blogpost on my research written by Liz Ivkovich of the Global Change and Sustainability Center, University of Utah
Its not easy being green. UC Berkeley's Social Science Matrix profile's my research in Bangalore
