Geeta Mehta is an Indian-American social entrepreneur,

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

er, architect and author. She is the co-founder of Social Capital Initiatives (formerly Asia Initiatives), and URBZ.She is also an adjunct professor at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and serves on the Management Policy Council of the University of Tokyo. In 2024, Forbes Women named her as one of the “50 over 50 impact Makers".

Early life and education

One of three children, Mehta was born in Simla, India, to Prof. Om Parkash Khurana and Indra Rani Khurana. She earned her bachelor's degree in architecture from the

School of Planning and Architecture The Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs) are centrally funded technical institutes located across India. They are a group of autonomous public institutes of higher education under Ministry of Education, Government of India. They were est ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, a master's degree in architecture and urban design from

, and a doctorate in urban engineering from the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

Career

Mehta is an adjunct professor of architecture and urban design at the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation at Columbia University in New York City. She was appointed in 2018 by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to the Waterfront Management Advisory board.She is a research affiliate at the Center for Sustainable Urban Development at Columbia Climate School. Until 2009, Mehta was a professor of architecture at the Temple University campus in Tokyo. Mehta has spoken on social capital,

sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

and equitable

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, a profession focusing on the design and management of urban ...

, and community-based change at forums in Australia, Austria, Brazil, India, Japan, UAE and the US, including the Public Ideas Forum in Perth, Australia, and the Post City event at ARS Electronica in Linz, Austria. She also was a panelist at WomenDeliver in Copenhagen, Denmark and the Women's Summit in Sharjah organized by UN Women. She serves on the board o
WomenStrong InternationalThe Center for the Living City
an
Friends of University of Tokyo
She previously served on the advisory board of the Millennium Cities Initiative of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and People Building Better Cities. Mehta appeared in Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, a full-length documentary film about activist Jane Jacobs directed by

Matt Tyrnauer Matt Tyrnauer is an American film director. He directed the documentary feature ''Valentino: The Last Emperor'' (2009), which was short listed for an Oscar (award), Oscar nomination in 2010, ''Citizen Jane: Battle for the City'' (2016), the Emm ...

. Mehta, in the film, warned that global development, without the philosophies of Jacobs, could result in "the slums of the future".

Social Capital Initiatives

Inspired by Prof.

M. S. Swaminathan Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (7 August 1925 – 28 September 2023) was an Indian geneticist and plant breeder, administrator and humanitarian. Swaminathan was a global leader of the green revolution. He has been called the main architect of ...

, a scientist and humanist, Geeta and Krishen Mehta co-founded Asia Initiatives in 1999 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. In 2010, the organization was officially registered as a 501(c)(3)

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

in New York City. As advised by Professor Swaminathan, all Asia Initiatives projects are pro-women, pro-environment, and pro-community. Asia Initiatives leads projects in education, up-skilling, nature-based agriculture, climate resilience, healthcare, and micro-credit in underserved areas through partnerships with local NGOs and governments in India, Kenya, Taiwan, and the United States. Since 2024, Asia Initiatives has been doing business as (DBA) Social Capital Initiatives. The M.S. Swaminathan Award, instituted in 2014, was presented at Asia Initiatives' events to

Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs ( ; born November 5, 1954) is an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University, where he was formerly director of The Earth Institute. He worked on the topics of sustainable develop ...

for his humanistic approach to economics (2014),

Indra Nooyi Indra Nooyi (née Krishnamurthy; born October 28, 1955) is an Indian-born American business executive who was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2018. Nooyi has consistently ranked among the world's 100 mos ...

for steering

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...

towards Performance with Purpose (2015),

Kerry Kennedy Mary Kerry Kennedy (born September 8, 1959) is an American lawyer, author, and human rights activist. Kennedy is a daughter of former United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, and a niece of former U.S. President John F. Kenned ...

for her work on human rights (2016), and Dr. Mattoo for his commitment to educational causes (2016). The 8th Secretary General of the United Nations, H.E.

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

, is a patron of Social Capital Initiatives. In his honor, SCI has instituted the Ban Ki-moon Awards in 2017. Recipients of the award have included Dr.

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English zoologist, Primatology, primatologist and Anthropology, anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremo ...

, Dr.

Paul Polman Paulus Gerardus Josephus Maria Polman, (born 11 July 1956) is a Dutch people, Dutch businessman and author. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the British/Dutch consumer goods company Unilever. Polman is also the co-author (with Andrew ...

, Ms.

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem ( ; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social movement, social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...

, Ms. Yue Sai Kan, Ms. Pat Mitchell, Mr.

Ricky Kej Ram Gyan "Ricky" Kej (born 5 August 1981) is an Indian music composer, environmentalist, a three-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner and a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy nominee. Kej was conferred with a Padma Shri, Padma Shri award in 20 ...

, Ms. Eva Haller, Prof.

Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator. Clinton was born in Little Rock, Ar ...

, Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Dr
Mitzi Perdue
Dr. Susan Blaustein, Ms. Kathy Matsui, Ms.

Cecile Richards Cecile Richards (July 15, 1957 – January 20, 2025) was an American activist who served as the president of both the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliated Planned Parenthood Action Fund from 2006 to 2018. In 2010, Richard ...

, Dr.

Lee Bae-yong Lee Bae-Yong (born January 1, 1947) was the 13th president of Ewha Womans University, in central Seoul, South Korea. In 1969, Lee graduated from Ewha Womans University Department of History, and in 1971, received her master's degree in history fro ...

, and Dr
Madhura Swaminathan

SoCCs (Social Capital Credits)

Mehta is the innovator of Social Capital Credits (SoCCs), a community currency for social good, that helps communities leverage their social capital and improve their financial and environmental capital, and happiness. People earn SoCCs by helping their communities according to the SoCCs menus they create themselves during SoCCratic dialogues, and redeem them for personal education, healthcare, up-skilling and micro-credit, as also community assets for rainwater harvesting or other critical infrastructure. The SoCCs team at SCI Asia Initiatives (DBA Social Capital Initiatives) works with communities to customize hyper local SoCCs menus to their specific needs and capabilities during the SoCCratic dialogues. SoCCs Earning Menus may include items such as mentoring younger children to help them stay and succeed in school, creating rainwater harvesting structures, switching to water-smart and regenerative agriculture,

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

, planting trees, etc. iSoCCs Spending Menus include items such as digital skill classes, training for better livelihoods, and agricultural inputs, etc. CommSoCCs can be used for community projects such as a micro-

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewerage, sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged fro ...

system, improvements to streets or public spaces, or child-care centers. A local SoCC Manager is trained to work with the community. Mehta has appeared in articles in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' and Huffington Post, which describe the creation and use of SoCCs in greater detail. Asia Initiatives was also a winner of the Amravati Happy Cities competition in April 2018. SoCCs methodology is now being offered to all communities that would like to use it. In 2019, Asia Initiatives received

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

's 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards for SoCCs, and

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

Inclusive Innovation Award for the Asia Region category. In 2021, Asia Initiatives received awards from MIT SOLVE, General Motors, Vodafone and Experian. In 2021, Asia Initiative received the Jacobs Foundation Conference Grand Innovation prize. In 2022, Asia Initiatives received the Future of Work award from MIT/Caterpillar Foundation.

URBZ

With

urban planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, tow ...

Matias Echanove and urban anthropologist Rahul Srivastava, Mehta co-founde
URBZ: User Generated Cities
a research and action collective that focuses on participatory urban planning and design systems. URBZ was named one of the 100 most influential names in architecture in the world by the magazine ''Il Giornale dell'Architettura''. In 2023, re:arc selected URBZ in the second annual cohort of the Practice Lab, and provided funding for grassroots projects in Dharavi, Mumbai, where URBZ has had its offices since 2010.

Bibliography

''Living Cities for the Future''. Published in 2023 by Observer Research Foundation Press. Co-edited with Dikshu Kukreja
Launched at T20/G20 event in India * ''City Connect: Regeneration, Sustainability and Equity in the 21st Century'', published in 2016 by Arch-media Inc. and co-edited with George Kunihiro * ''New Japan Architecture'', published in 2011 by