Productive Urbanism

Mansi Shah is an architect from South Gujarat University, Surat and she completed Master’s degree in 2010 in Urban design at the Domus Academy (Milan, Italy), validated and awarded by the University of Wales, Cardiff , U.K. She is currently based in Ahmedabad and is teaching in Bachelors of Urban Design, as Adjunct Assistant Professor in Faculty of Planning at CEPT University. With teaching, she works on her independent research projects on different subjects under ‘Productive Urbanism Collective’ (a research collaborative focused on urban landscapes as productive and performative spaces); ‘Ahmedabad Mapping Project’ (an initiative to gather information about the city and represent it through maps and cartography), ‘City Water Walks’ (a project to understand how the urban commons function and how are they are affected by constant changes in governance and development) and ‘Pocket-garden’. She has also co-authored the book ‘Prathaa: Kath-khuni architecture of Himachal Pradesh’ while working as a senior researcher at Design Innovation and Craft Resource Centre, DICRC. The research project was also recognized by the International Zumtobel Group Awards 2012 in Research and Special Initiatives category with honorable mention. Her other book is ‘Rebel Bodies Rebel Cities’ co-authored with Victor Cano-Ciborro, published in 2022 by CEPT University Press. She has a keen interest in pedagogy and research and has carried out several publications, workshops (‘Common voids, 2016’, ‘Sustainable Living Practicum: Rainforest farming edition 2015’), and exhibitions (‘Chowk Networks 2016- Ahmedabad’, ‘Feral City 2015- NID’, ‘Japan Foundation-Delhi’, ‘Yokohama Civic Art Gallery- Japan’, Prathaa 2012, Cept University, Beyond Green 2010- Salone del Mobile) to explore innovative ways to support her research and learning for students.