Zehra Mahdi is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal. Her doctoral research focuses on neighborhood change in informal settlements that are predominantly inhabited by the Muslim community and influenced by the presence of anchor institutions. She employs visual geography along with oral research traditions to examine internal heterogeneity, particularly through the built environment, and capture residents’ perceptions and experiences.
Zehra holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi and a master’s degree in city planning from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal. She is a licensed architect and has worked on design and construction of public housing and healthcare infrastructure projects in the past.
As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, Zehra is exploring the role of infrastructural provision in gaining legitimacy in informal settlements. Her research will highlight the role of informal institutions, social capital and collective action in establishing channels of tacit understanding between the State and non-State actors. The study strives to contribute to the knowledge of the dynamics of informal settlements in the Global South. Zehra loves cycling, and enjoys curating cycling trails for exploration of heritage, food and art in cities.