Ankita Nalavade has emerged as a transformative leader in urban sustainability, using her diverse cultural and professional experiences to drive impactful change. Her journey, from the dynamic streets of Mumbai to the iconic skyline of New York City, reflects a deep commitment to reshaping urban landscapes by integrating sustainable and resilient practices. As the Principal Specialist for Standards of Practice at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, she leads efforts to embed these principles into architectural and engineering standards, setting a new benchmark for sustainable urban development.
A significant part of Ankita’s work involves developing innovative solutions that address climate resilience through technology-driven strategies. Her focus on fostering circular construction practices aligns with the evolving needs of urban environments, ensuring resources are used efficiently and sustainably. By promoting advanced methodologies like circularity audits and leveraging Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Ankita contributes to setting new standards for sustainable development that minimize waste and reduce environmental impact.
Her influence transcends local projects, extending onto the global stage. Ankita’s involvement in events like COP26 showcases her dedication to fostering international collaboration and the exchange of diverse perspectives. This experience underscored the need for context-specific sustainable solutions, highlighting that what works in one region may not be applicable in another. Through these engagements, she emphasizes the importance of a collective worldwide effort to tackle climate challenges, solidifying her reputation as a forward-thinking advocate for sustainable urban transformation.
Global impact on resilience
From her participation in UNLEASH’s innovation lab in Copenhagen to her influential presence at COP26, Ankita espouses a global vision for urban resilience. Her initiation into global sustainability began in 2017 at the UNLEASH, where she and a diverse cohort tackled global challenges like water scarcity through a localized lens. Ankita reflects, “We all identified stressors that were unique to the geographical region we lived in,” showcasing her appreciation for local nuances in addressing global issues.
This global engagement instilled in her the value of diverse collaboration and a systems-oriented approach. By adopting a holistic view and engaging multidisciplinary expertise, Ankita applies these principles in urban sustainability projects. Her active participation in forums like COP26 and her leadership in UNLEASH hackathons exemplify her dedication to fostering global dialogue on resilience, solidifying her as an innovative leader in sustainable urban planning.
Global lessons from COP26
Experiences at COP26 furnished Ankita with profound insights into global sustainability challenges, underscoring the necessity for tailored solutions. “Collaborating with a global team on matters of sustainability at the COP26 event was an eye-opening experience,” she reveals, signifying how diverse cultural insights illuminate environmental strategies differently. While New York’s green roof mandates chart a path for some, they may not suffice for regions combating water scarcity, necessitating adaptable solutions.
One key takeaway from COP26 was the importance of integrating flexibility into project designs to accommodate varied environmental contexts. Inspired by these discussions, Ankita implemented this approach in the East Midtown Greenway (EMG) project in New York City. Recognizing that urban landscapes require both climate-resilient infrastructure and functional public spaces, she worked with community stakeholders to incorporate adaptive green infrastructure throughout the project. This ensured the greenway could address both environmental concerns and meet the evolving needs of the community.
Her understanding of community-specific approaches continues to shape her strategies, accentuating the import of customized sustainability measures while drawing from global dialogues. Ankita emphasizes, “When it comes to sustainability and climate adaptation, there is no one size fits all,” reinforcing her belief that tailored solutions are essential to creating truly resilient urban spaces.
Ankita at AIA NY | Image credits: Christina Brown
Cutting carbon in cities
Driven by the urgency to tackle embodied carbon, Ankita seeks innovative paths to curtail greenhouse gas emissions in construction. Although New York City has advanced in cutting operational carbon via Local Law 97, focused on building emissions, the issue of embodied carbon gained primacy in 2022. Embodied carbon, which accounts for a substantial portion of the building sector’s emissions, primarily stems from the material procurement and construction phases. Observing that around 75% of these emissions occur during material sourcing, Ankita recognizes a prospect for industry-wide transformation.
This epiphany led her to contribute extensively to NYCEDC’s Clean and Circular Design and Construction Guidelines, aiming to halve embodied carbon emissions. Ankita emphasizes, “I wanted the industry to look at existing infrastructure and buildings as a material resource and not waste.” These guidelines champion circular design principles, urging the reuse of materials to supplant waste with resource conservational shift that sets new benchmarks for New York City in sustainable urban development.
Innovative solutions in urban design
Ankita exemplifies a forward-thinking paradigm in urban design, advocating for a comprehensive approach that encompasses a project’s lifecycle—from inception to deconstruction. This holistic mindset dismantles traditional silos among stakeholders, ensuring a cooperative ethos throughout project phases. A testament to this approach is her spearheading the reconstruction of a Step Street Project in New York City, where she utilized the NYC Hazard Mitigation’s Risk Assessment tool to unveil heightened heat vulnerabilities.
The initial design limited the trees to specific areas due to agency maintenance constraints. By orchestrating workshops with stakeholders across multiple city agencies, Ankita facilitated a collaborative effort that expanded the project scope. Trees were incorporated throughout the step street, accompanied by an innovative maintenance program. Such strategies not only transformed this project but also influenced broader maintenance protocols, enriching local community life. As Ankita articulates, “Implementing sustainability is sometimes as simple as getting the right stakeholders in the same room to brainstorm ideas.”
Trendsetting in sustainable practices
In urban sustainability, there are few constants, with developments continually evolving since Ankita’s academic pursuits began in 2016. What once constituted a niche now burgeons with innovative technologies, policies, and strategic practices. Remaining at the vanguard of this dynamic field requires building a community of like-minded professionals and engaging actively within industry spheres. “Fostering a community of sustainability and resilience enthusiasts outside of my immediate work responsibilities has helped a lot,” Ankita notes, referring to her contributions to platforms like ACEC NY.
Her active participation in professional networks and leadership initiatives has been pivotal. In the Urban Design Forum’s Streets Ahead program, she developed strategies for transforming New York City streets into climate action hubs. Additionally, leading as a mentor in the AIA NY Civic Leadership Program provided a forum for addressing complex subjects such as coastal climate adaptation. By encouraging discourse on political, financial, and social facets of climate resilience, Ankita perpetually adapts and refines her sustainable urban strategies.
Ankita at AIA NY discussion | Image credits: Christina Brown
Tech-driven circularity
An advocate for tech-driven innovation, Ankita has played a pivotal role in advancing urban sustainability, particularly through the Circular Design Guidelines. Central to her efforts is the use of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which she actively promotes as a standard practice across projects. Often likened to the nutritional labels for building materials, EPDs provide detailed insights into the environmental impacts of materials. During her tenure at NYCEDC, Ankita led the integration of EPDs into the Circular Design Guidelines, ensuring that project teams not only collect EPDs for steel and concrete but extend this practice to all building materials. This contribution has encouraged industry-wide transparency and pushed suppliers to develop EPDs for previously overlooked materials. “We can quantify and minimize environmental impacts by comparing EPDs,” she affirms, emphasizing the necessity of data-driven decisions in sustainable design.
In addition to EPDs, Ankita champions the use of Circularity Audits to assess the potential reuse of materials within existing structures. These audits involve detailed evaluations, drawing on as-built drawings and advanced tools like laser-scanning drones for precise analysis. This process supports a shift toward deconstruction rather than demolition, where “deconstructing the joint rather than breaking down the assembly,” aligns with her philosophy. By embedding these technological insights into her work, Ankita continues to set new standards in sustainability, advancing waste reduction and embodied carbon minimization in urban landscapes.
Future of low-carbon cities
The role of embodied carbon is magnified in urban planning, with the construction industry notably contributing to global GHG emissions. Ankita emphasizes, “The concept of embodied carbon will help us challenge the way buildings are designed in relation to their lifetime,” encouraging the recognition of existing infrastructures as material resources. By reevaluating material management, cities can endeavor toward carbon neutrality.
Ankita advocates three innovations to address these challenges: designing for deconstruction, bolstering local construction industries, and pioneering low-carbon technologies. “Only when we can measure something, is when we can address it,” she asserts, underscoring the imperative of data-driven strategic planning. Designs focused on deconstruction from inception, utilizing mechanical joints to facilitate material reuse, epitomizing a potential shift in urban dynamics. Moreover, developing local material markets minimizes transportation emissions, advancing urban sustainability aligned with circular construction principles.
New ideas in urban sustainability
Exploring the future of urban sustainability, Ankita emphasizes the need for a holistic approach that balances social, environmental, and economic considerations. Anchored by the belief that third-party sustainability frameworks serve as starting points, she stresses the importance of labor transparency and local sourcing practices. “Some of our construction materials travel halfway across the world,” she highlights, underscoring the need to prioritize sustainable supply chains and ethical labor standards.
Her ongoing research focuses on exploring ways to promote local construction practices and reduce dependency on global supply chains, aligning with movements that advocate design freedom and sustainability. This inquiry reflects her commitment to developing strategies that support regional industries, lower transportation emissions, and encourage sustainable material sourcing. Ankita’s innovative approach positions her as a leader charting new courses through urban landscapes, advancing sustainability, resilience, and holistic community welfare.
Her unwavering pursuit of urban sustainability and resilience remains evident through her work in reducing embodied carbon, strategic foresight, and global advocacy. With a focus on community well-being and future resiliency, Ankita continues to set benchmarks for sustainable urban evolution.