Lubaina is Program Head, Urban Development and Resilience with the Sustainable Cities and Transport team at WRI India. She has been associated with the institute for nine years. Her current work focuses on green infrastructure projects, nature-based solutions to address long-term climate risk in Indian cities, and working with vulnerable communities to build their resilience capacities. She is currently involved in climate action plans, disaster management and flood mitigation measures in Indian cities.
At WRI, Lubaina led the development of a global tool called the Urban Community Resilience Assessment, and continues to address issues of gender, equity, diversity and inclusion in city resilience plans.
Lubaina started her career as a researcher and visiting lecturer at two architecture schools in Mumbai. She worked with the KRVIA design cell on projects affiliated with the Mumbai Transformation Support Unit (MTSU) and the World Bank. During her short stint at the City of Emeryville, California, USA she helped set up the online building approvals portal, and worked with the City of Berkeley on local economic development strategies in low-income neighborhoods of South Berkeley.
Lubaina is an Urban Planner and Architect from Mumbai, with over 14 years of work experience in India and the United States. She earned her undergraduate degree in architecture from the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture (KRVIA), Mumbai University, and a dual master’s in Architecture and City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, with a focus on housing, community, and economic development.