A Tale of Two Metros: Urban Planning Insights from Tokyo and Mumbai

Jasmine Saluja, an Architect and Urban Designer, leads an urban research laboratory at PLURAL, where she is a founding partner. PLURAL is a collaborative initiative that brings together professionals, government bodies, and communities to focus on inclusive planning, equitable public spaces, and affordable housing. Jasmine's commitment to people-centric urban policies is evident through her leadership in real-world public projects and her role as a TEDx Salon speaker. She presented PLURAL's award-winning Community Land Trust model for Dharavi slum at the UN Habitat conference in Brussels. Additionally, she serves as a visiting faculty for the Masters program in Urban Design at KRVIA, Mumbai, and played a pivotal role in establishing the Mumbai Centre of IUDI (Institute of Urban Designers-India), where she is a National Council member. With a Masters degree in Urban Design from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and two decades of experience, Jasmine has significantly shaped the urban design narrative and promoted sustainable, resilient, and inclusive cities through her practice and writings. She is also a co-author of the upcoming book, "6 Metros – Urban Planning and Implementation Compared.  

Rahul Gore has studied architecture at Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) in Ahmedabad and completed his Master’s Degree in Urban Design at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In January 2001, Rahul Gore along with Sonal Sancheti set up _OPOLIS, a multidisciplinary design practice. Since then the firm has grown from strength to strength winning several national as well as international awards and has been widely published. Opolis has recently completed the Bihar Museum, Patna project – won as an international competition along with Maki and Associates, Tokyo. _OPOLIS in collaboration with Steven Holl Architects, New York won the competition for Extension to the Bhauji Daji Lad Museum at Byculla, Mumbai. He is a visiting juror at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture in Mumbai. Rahul is an avid traveler, a sports and fitness enthusiast and loves his game of tennis, his runs and work-outs.

Katsushi Goto is a practising architect/urbanist in Mumbai and Tokyo, the director of the design and research firm, Squareworks, Mumbai.   Recently completed project Tarq is nominated for INSIDE award, World Architecture Festival 2023.  His current research focuses on the domesticity associated with the materiality of the ideal family home and the intersection of politics of public domain and interior urbanism.   His collaborative research with Vishwa Shroff, funded by Jusoken Housing Research Foundation, investigates the relevance of Art Deco apartments in domestic life in 1930s Bombay.  He also participated in BIENNIAL OF PUBLIC SPACE 2017 & 2019, Rome, and presented the research, “Public Library as Public Space”. He studied architecture at Meiji University, Tokyo and Housing and Urbanism, Architectural Association, London. He is a visiting researcher at Meiji University in Tokyo and a visiting faculty at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India.  He is also a founding member of SqW:Lab which is a research fellowship programme in Mumbai for cultural practitioners from all over the world.  

Oormi Kapadia is an Architect, Urban Designer and founding partner at PLURAL – a collaborative urban research and planning studio based in Mumbai and Goa. She heads the Project Research and Policy Planning division and shares her expertise in ideas of sustainability at various scales. She has worked extensively on large scaled urban design and planning projects in India and USA. She is a LEED AP and a qualified TERI Griha trainer. She is currently involved in policy research that informs the quality of affordable housing and dignity of living in a city. She is also involved in community design and place making projects with Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. She was invited to share their award-winning Community land trust development model for Dharavi slums at the UN Habitat conference in Brussels, Europe. She writes on urban issues on various platforms. She is a co-author of 6 Metros – Urban Planning and Implementation Compared. Oormi teaches as a visiting faculty in various Architectural colleges in Mumbai and Goa. She received her Master’s degree in Urban Design from University of Texas at Austin.

Chaitaniya A Karnik is the founding principal of White3 Design Studio. He has a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design from UCLA. His undergraduate studies were completed from The Academy of Architecture, Rachana Sansad. Chaitaniya has worked on multiple large scale urban design projects ranging from university campus design to township planning. Chaitaniya won the progressive architecture award for his masters thesis on Downtown Los Angeles and the project was on exhibition at the Architecture and Design Museum in Los Angeles. Today his practice involves education, hospitality, healthcare and single family residential design. In addition to running a niche practice, Chaitaniya has taught both, undergraduate and masters level programs under Mumbai University and YCMOU. Chaitaniya practices the Rudraveena in the Dagarvani Dhrupad Tradition and is a student of Ustaad Mohi Baha-Ud-Din Dagar. He is a model train set enthusiast and loves to travel. Last but not least, Chaitaniya is a water colour artist specialising in Landscape and has painted his native Raigad extensively.