Dr. Sai Balakrishnan

Biography

Sai Balakrishnan is an Associate Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning with a joint appointment in Global Metropolitan Studies (GMS) at the University of California, Berkeley. His research and teaching broadly pivot on global urban inequalities, with a particular focus on urbanization, planning, and institutions in the Global South. He has worked as an urban planner in the United States, India, and the United Arab Emirates, and has been a consultant for UN-HABITAT in Nairobi. His work has been published in reputable journals such as the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and Urban Studies, and featured in media outlets such as The Guardian and Open Magazine. Balakrishnan’s recent book, "Shareholder Cities: Land Transformations in Urban Corridors in India" (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019), explores the new spatial forms of urbanization and focuses on land contestations in infrastructural and economic corridors in liberalizing India. His current research includes a comparative analysis of Transfer Development Rights (TDRs) as a new land commodification instrument in Mumbai and Sao Paulo, examining how these programs reshape land-use planning and the implications for urban socio-political dynamics. He collaborates with Arindam Dutta from MIT on understanding the geographies of uneven development in post-liberalization India, particularly through the lens of infrastructure corridors and caste capitalism.

Research Interests

Courses