Qualifications:

Urban Fellows Program, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, 2025
MSc in Physics, Christ University, 2024

Email: spandana@dakshin.org

Profile: Spandana P T holds a Master’s degree in Physics, with a specialisation in Energy Sciences. During an energy survey centred around indigenous communities in the forests of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, she realised the potential of policies to both connect and divide people across space and time. To understand the implications of this, she pursued an urban fellowship, where she was introduced to diverse forms of urban practice. Here, she chose to work at the intersection of renewable energy, environmental governance, and energy policy, with a focus on just transitions.

At Dakshin Foundation, she contributes to the SeaChange initiative in Andamans, where her work focuses on understanding the socio-economic dynamics shaping coastal communities and their adaptive capacities in the face of environmental change. Her broader academic and professional interests lie in linking climate and development policy with on-ground social realities, particularly in island and urban coastal contexts, to build inclusive and resilient futures. Outside of work, she finds joy in painting, reading, and long walks.

Publications:

• Spandana, P. T. (2021, January 24).Garden city, Stygian stream: The story of a farm’s rise and fall, as decades of pollution turned the Vrishabhavathi river black.The Hindu.