Dr Sadhana Manthapuri
🏆 Virginia Tech Outstanding Research Award 2025 · 🥈 Edmund Bacon Student Design Award, AIA Philadelphia 2024 · 🌍 World Bank Youth Summit Top 100 of 5,000+ Innovators 2026 · 🎙 Keynote, The DNA of Cities Podcast 2025
I am a PhD urban planner and researcher whose work sits at the intersection of urban governance, AI for development, and Global South policy. My Urban DNA framework — recognized with Virginia Tech’s Outstanding Research Award — offers a novel lens for understanding how cities evolve. I am the founder of NavikaUrba, recognized as Top 60 of 10,000+ innovations at the World Bank Youth Summit 2026, building AI-powered development intelligence for cities the world forgot to serve.
Dr. Sadhana Manthapuri 