Prof. Dr. N. Sridharan is one of India’s most accomplished scholars and practitioners in Urban and Regional Planning, with over four decades of academic leadership, research, and policy advisory experience. A distinguished urban economist and planner, he has made seminal contributions to urban governance, metropolitan planning, deprivation mapping, and resilient development across India and internationally.

He holds advanced degrees in Urban & Regional Planning (SPA Delhi), Economics (University of Madras), Town & Country Planning (Poland – UNESCO Scholarship), and a Ph.D. from RMIT University, Melbourne, specializing in urban land markets.

Prof. Sridharan has the unique distinction of being the first person in India to serve as Director of all three Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs)—SPA Bhopal, SPA Vijayawada, and SPA Delhi—under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. His career at SPA Delhi spanned more than three decades, from Lecturer to Professor and Director (In-Charge), shaping generations of India’s planners, architects, and urban researchers.

Beyond academia, he has held impactful roles in public policy and development, including:

• Member, NITI Aayog’s Hill Area Development Committee (2022–23)
• Member Secretary & Technical Expert, Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), Government of India
• Technical Member Advisor, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, for the G-20 Urban Governance Committee
• Chairperson, Education Committee, Institute of Town Planners, India

Prof. Sridharan has deep international exposure, having led or collaborated on major projects funded by the European Union, French Government, Dutch Government, Italian Government, German Government (GIZ), and Asian Development Bank. His project experience spans resilient urban systems, community development, regional planning, decentralised urbanisation, and qualitative GIS applications.

He has authored and co-authored several influential works in Elsevier, Springer, Urban Studies, Habitat International, Environment & Urbanisation, and other leading journals. His research has advanced understanding of spatial inequality, pandemic vulnerability in cities, tacit knowledge in water resilience, and subaltern urbanisation.

Over the years, he has delivered numerous keynote lectures at national and international conferences and has mentored over 50 research scholars, contributing extensively to India’s planning education ecosystem.

Widely recognised for his expertise at the intersection of urban policy, economics, planning practice, and governance, Prof. Sridharan brings to NEF unmatched intellectual depth, policy insight, and a global perspective on sustainable and equitable urban development. His presence on the Advisory Board strengthens NEF’s commitment to rigorous, context-sensitive, and solution-oriented research.