Sowmya Parthasarathy: Planning Cities for the Long Term

The Century of Cities welcomes Sowmya Parthasarathy, an Architect and Urban Designer leading Arup's Masterplanning and Urban Design team in London, who examines how city planning has shifted from centralized, top-down systems toward more people-centred and regenerative approaches. Drawing on her experience in 1980s New Delhi and her work across the UK, US, Middle East, and India, she reflects on how rapid urbanization outpaced planning capacity, and how climate risk and housing affordability now define urban priorities.

Looking to 2080, she argues that cities must move beyond net zero toward regenerative models that align human and natural systems. Drawing on her work with the UK's New Towns Task Force, she explores densification, retrofit, and the role of new towns, emphasizing that long-term success depends on integrating housing, infrastructure, placemaking, and stewardship into a single, sustained civic vision.