Divya is a Senior Program Associate, Urban Development in the Sustainable Cities and Transport team at WRI India. Here she works on projects and research related to affordable housing, gender equity, climate resilience, and strategic planning.  

Divya has worked across diverse roles in urban research, design, and program management, with a focus on action-oriented research and accessible communications. In Hyderabad, she researched heat-risks in informal settlements and facilitated a low-cost urban design competition with Hyderabad Urban Lab, to unlock the potential of underutilized spaces in the city. With City Collab, she strategized outreach and research for the FAST-Infra label, that evaluates the sustainability and resilience performances of infrastructure projects. She also co-founded Lokal Habitat Labs, an architecture and research collective committed to promoting equitable access to sustainable design and architecture for all communities. Here she designed a technical support program for rural homeowners, promoting financial literacy and sustainable, cost-effective building practices in central India. 

Divya has previously held fellowships with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, and the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bangalore. She holds an MSc. in Urban Studies from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and a Bachelor of Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi.  Divya enjoys exploring new places through fieldwork, reading widely, photography, visual-design and playing board games.