Ashita Gupta is an Architect-turned-Urban Designer, currently an Associate Lecturer and a Doctoral Researcher (FoAHB funded Collaborative Doctoral Award) at the University of Plymouth. She is also a Local Pathways Fellow in the 2025 cohort of the UN SDSN-Youth Initiative’s Local Pathways Fellowship, working on localising the SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) in urban contexts. Ashita has worked at the intersection of academia and industry on multidisciplinary projects across architecture, urban design and planning in India and the UK for over four years. Specialising in participatory urbanism, gender-sensitive placemaking, and co-design, her work integrates research and practice for developing participatory urban solutions that promote spatial justice, resilience, and sustainability.

 

Recently, she has been exploring living lab methodologies through a digital placemaking lens for co-creating digital solutions with young people and marginalised communities that can enhance green and blue space governance in Plymouth, UK. She has worked extensively with local stakeholders in collaboration with civic organisations in the city including the Plymouth City Council, the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and various others through projects such as - EU/ERDF Urban Innovative Actions funded action research under the Green Minds: Living Lab & more recently the AHRC Design Exchange Partnership funded Digital Seascapes Project (2023 cohort) & Make Space for BEES Project (2024 Cohort). She has also recently been involved with Digital Together project for developing community hubs to embed digital skills and access across Cornwall, UK, for supporting collective health and wellbeing. In 2021, Ashita also received the Urban Design ‘Victoria Henshaw Prize for Contributions to City Liveability’ from The University of Sheffield  for her research on formulating frameworks for assessing gender response in urban public spaces and enhancing inclusivity in the public realm.