Binita Mahato

Education

Ph.D., Urban and Regional Planning, University of Cincinnati, USA, 2015-2020

Master of Community Planning, University of Cincinnati, USA, 2013-2015

Bachelor of Architecture, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, India, 2006-2011

About Me

Binita Mahato is an assistant professor in Auburn University’s Community Planning Program. She has a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning, a master’s degree in community planning from the School of Planning, University of Cincinnati, and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), India.

Mahato has worked as an architect for two years and has work experience with the Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System (CAGIS), Niehoff Urban Studio, and the Institute of Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. She has been a research fellow for the Communication in Urban Environments (CUE) research initiative by the Fruth and Gemini Foundation, University of Cincinnati. Alongside, she has worked as an editorial assistant for the Journal of Children, Youth, and Environment and has taught urban planning and urban design studios at the School of Planning, University of Cincinnati.

Mahato’s research interest lies in investigating the relationship between space and society using qualitative and interpretive research methods. Her dissertation focuses on the manifestation of social class relations over the use of public spaces in Kolkata, India. She has also worked on several other research projects on measuring the robustness of neighborhood business districts and the diversity of urban parks in Cincinnati. She has urban design and GIS certificates and likes to use her design and GIS skills to illustrate complex urban phenomena through communicative visuals.

Research Grants

Binita Mahato, & Arindam Roy. 2022-2023. Small Business Anti-Displacement Network Case Study Grant, University of Maryland. https://antidisplacement.org/research/case-studies/

Areas of Expertise

qualitative research, spatial analysis, interpretive methods

Research Interests

Space and society, Urban Informality, Global South (India/ Kolkata), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Spatial Analysis, Environmental Justice, urban design, urban planning, geographic information system, environmental justice, urban informality, global south, India

Publications

Journal Articles

Mahato, Binita, and Arindam Roy. 2024. “Grassroots Organization and Informal Economy: Learnings from Hawker Sangram Committee.” Habitat International, 153 (November). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103205 

Mahato, Binita. 2024. Park Segregation and Park Access: An Environmental Justice Inquiry of Urban Parks in Montgomery, Alabama. Landscape Journal, 43 (1).

Jonathan M. Fisk, Joseph A. Aistrup, Binita Mahato, and John C. Morris. 2023. Drilling Setbacks vs Government Takings: The Case of Colorado’s 2018 Colorado Ballot Initiatives. Society & Natural Resources, 4: 521-544. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2023.2294848

Aistrup, Joseph A., Binita Mahato, and John C. Morris. 2023. The 1990s Party Realignment of U.S. Presidential Elections: Geographic Sorting of Counties by Blue or Red. Social Science Quarterly, 104 (4): 636-668. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13288.

Mahato, Binita, Retzlaff, Rebecca., & Chen, Xi. 2022. Planning, Civil Rights, and African American Voting: The Case of Montgomery, Alabama. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X221136503.

Mehta, Vikas, and Binita Mahato. 2021. “Designing Urban Parks for Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity.” Journal of Urbanism 14 (4): 457–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2020.1816563.

Kickert, Conrad, Rainer vom Hofe, Tigran Haas, Wen Zhang, and Binita Mahato. 2020. “Spatial Dynamics of Long-Term Urban Retail Decline in Three Transatlantic Cities.” Cities 107 (December). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102918

Mehta, Vikas, and Binita Mahato. 2019. “Measuring the Robustness of Neighbourhood Business Districts.” Journal of Urban Design 24 (1): 99–118.

Book Chapters

Mahato, Binita, and Arindam Roy. 2023. “Chapter 9: Formalization of the Informal Sector through Hawkers’ Unions in Kolkata, India” in Keeping Small Businesses in Place - Voices from the Field: Case Studies of Communities Combating Commercial Gentrification. University of Maryland: National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education. https://antidisplacement.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Keeping-Small-Businesses-in-Place-SBAN-case-studies-2023.pdf

Mahato, Binita, Sweta Byahut, and Jay Mittal. 2023 (April). “Alabama City Year Program” in Routledge Companion to Professional Awareness and Diversity in Planning Education. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Companion-to-Professional-Awareness-and-Diversity-in-Planning/Diko-Hollstein-Palazzo/p/book/9781032183121

Mahato, Binita. 2022. “Chapter 33: Teaching how to conduct an environmental behavioral study.” In Teaching Graduate Political Methodology. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800885288.00046

Book Reviews

Mahato, Binita. 2022. “Public Places Urban Spaces: The Dimensions of Urban Design, Third Edition.” Journal of Urban Affairs, December.

Mahato, Binita. 2018. “Who Cleans the Park? Public Work and Urban Governance in New York City.” Journal of Urban Affairs, 40 (8): 1192–93. https://doi:10.1080/07352166.2018.1446609. 

Dissertation & Thesis

Mahato, Binita. 2020. “Social Class and Public Space: An Empirical Study of Class Relations in New Market Square, Kolkata, India.” https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ddu&AN=C4D27E38C73BCC4D&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Mahato, Binita. 2015. “Recreating Urban Density through Public Transportation- A Case Study of Bordeaux, France.” https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ddu&AN=4CC3C4B40074A2C2&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Courses Taught

• CPLN 7200: Urban Design Studio (Graduate Core)
• CPLN 6460/5460 GIS for Planning and Policy (Graduate Core)
• CPLN 7610: Synthesis Studio (Graduate Core)                                              
• CPLN 6010/5010: Introduction to Community Planning (Graduate Core)
• CPLN 6110/5110: Sustainable Urbanism and Growth Management (Graduate/ Undergraduate Elective)
• CPLN 6000/5000: History and Theory of Urban Form (Graduate/ Undergraduate Elective)
• CPLN 6100/5100: Urban Design Methods (Graduate/ Undergraduate Elective)
• POLI 2120: Urbanization and the City (Undergraduate Elective) (Online & In-person)