Jeenal Sawla

Jeenal Sawla

Jeenal Sawla is an urban practitioner working to humanise physical and digital infrastructure. As Principal Advisor at India's Smart Cities Mission, Government of India, she challenged car-centric urbanisation and led national initiatives including the Placemaking Marathon, Nurturing Neighbourhoods, India Cycles4Change, and Streets4People. Together, these programmes contributed to the creation of more than 2,500 km of safer streets and over 200 public spaces across Indian cities.

She also played a key role in institutionalising the use of data and digital technologies to strengthen urban governance across the Smart Cities Mission. Her leadership extended to the National Urban Livelihoods Mission, where she spearheaded the UrbanCARE programme to reduce the unpaid care burden on women and increase their participation and productivity in the labour force.

Jeenal's professional experience spans urban strategy, resilience, and civic innovation across India, the United States, Switzerland, and Costa Rica. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA) Mumbai, and a Master of Urban Planning from Harvard University. She is passionate about building cities that uphold dignity, expand opportunity, strengthen communities, and improve everyday quality of life for all.