Satya Maia Patchineelam

Satya Maia Patchineelam is an urban researcher with a background in environmental justice, community-led development, and inclusive urban planning. She holds an MSc in Environment and Sustainable Development from University College London and a PhD in Urban Governance and Development from the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam. Her doctoral research focused on the experiences of riverine women who were resettled due to the Belo Monte Hydropower Dam in the Brazilian Amazon.

She is currently Co-Coordinator of the River Cities Network (RCN), a global initiative that connects researchers, practitioners, and local communities to support more inclusive and ecological approaches to revitalizing urban waterways. The network works across disciplines and geographies to encourage collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Satya also recently joined IHS through Spark, a research project that looks at traditional building practices in informal settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project partners with local organisations to better understand how communities shape and adapt their built environments over time.

She is interested in collaborative approaches that combine academic research with lived experience to support more equitable urban futures.