Snehal Oswal

Growing up in India, I witnessed a gradual change in its urban character – from personifying its locale to alien spaces developed in isolation. In my experience working for several companies, I discovered that most developing countries portrayed similar development. I also realized this was more than an issue of changing characters.

Intrigued by these evolving characters I developed an interest in 3 segments of urban development which also dominate my research and work experience:

• The opportunities lie in our indigenous knowledge and its relevance in the current climate crisis.
• Evolution of urban forms as a methodology to create holistic and inclusive cities. Changing dynamics and identities of cities over time, narrate the cultural, political, economic, social, and geographic shifts in a city. Learning from these shifts will help create better cities for the future.
• The impact of the built environment on human mental health and behaviour of individuals and communities in an urban space. I am interested in how urban analytics and virtual reality analyze human behaviour and aid in creating spaces which enhance socio-spatial interactions.

My significant subjects of discussion are urbanism, psychogeography, indigenous/ vernacular knowledge, climate change, spatial evolution, cognitive/behavioural science, urban identities, resilient cities, informal settlements, and equity, especially in the developing cities of the global south.

I have expertise in analytical research, critical thinking, quantitative and qualitative methods, urban and architectural modelling tools, graphical tools, and written and oral skills. I am on my way to fine-tuning applications of ArcGIS, Python, urban data analytics and virtual reality in the urban development sector.