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

Dr. Binita Mahato is Associate Professor and Program Director of the Community Planning Program at Auburn University. She holds a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning and a Master of Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati, as well as a Bachelor of Architecture from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, India. She also earned certificates in Urban Design and Geographic Information Systems. Prior to joining Auburn University, she worked as an architect in India and gained professional and research experience with the Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System and the Institute of Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati.

Dr. Mahato's research examines the relationships among people, places, and planning institutions, with particular interests in public space, urban sustainability, climate adaptation, community resilience, social inclusion, and access to urban amenities. Her work explores how planning policies, the built environment, and governance processes shape quality of life, civic participation, and community outcomes. Spanning both U.S. and international contexts, her scholarship addresses public parks, informal economies, disaster planning, drinking water systems, urban design, and planning education.  

Her research has been published in leading journals, including Journal of Planning Education and Research, Habitat International, Landscape Journal, Social Science Quarterly, Society & Natural Resources, Cities, and Journal of Urbanism. She currently serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Planning Education and Research and is an active member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, where she has held leadership roles, including President of the Faculty Women's Interest Group and other task forces and committees.  

Dr. Mahato is committed to community-engaged planning, experiential learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She has secured support for research and teaching initiatives through programs including the Research Support Program Award, the Charles Wesley Edwards Sr. Endowment for the Humanities, the AUX Immersive Learning Grant, the Honors Research Venture Lyceum, and instructional enhancement and travel grants at Auburn University. These efforts have advanced planning scholarship, supported student research, and integrated innovative technologies into planning education.  

Through the Alabama City Year Program and other university-community partnerships, Dr. Mahato collaborates with local governments across Alabama to address real-world planning challenges while creating meaningful learning opportunities for students. Her studio and capstone projects have produced redevelopment plans, corridor studies, downtown revitalization strategies, public art plans, and community development recommendations for communities including Auburn, Opelika, Montgomery, Phenix City, LaFayette, and York. She integrates GIS, urban design, and immersive technologies into her teaching and research to help students and stakeholders better understand complex planning challenges and envision innovative futures.

Selected Research, Teaching and Experiential Learning Grants

• Charles Wesley Edwards, Sr. Endowment for the Humanities (2025-2026)
• AUX Immersive Learning Grant (2025-2026)
• Honors Research Venture Lyceum (2025-2026) 
• Research Support Program Award (2024-2026) 
• Daniel F. Breeden Endowment Grant for Instructional Enhancement Projects and Travel (2024-2025)
• Research & Scholarship Connections Travel Grant (Thailand and Indonesia) (2024)
• Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN) Case Study Grant (2022-2023)

Areas of Expertise

Community Planning, Urban Sustainability, Community Resilience, Public Space Planning and Design, Urban Design, GIS and Spatial Analysis, Participatory Planning, Planning Education, and Community-Engaged Planning

Research Interests

Public Space and Urban Life, Parks and Community Well-Being, Community Resilience, Informal Economies, Street Vending and Livelihood, Sustainable Development, Planning Education Innovation, GIS Applications, Global South, and International Planning

Publications

Journal Articles

Mahato, Binita, Xi Chen, Steven McKnight, Nurun Naher, Xiaodan Zhang, Joseph Aistrup, Jonathan M. Fisk, and John C. Morris. 2026. “Regional Disparities and Risk Factors in US Drinking Water Violations: Analyzing Trends From 2006 to 2020.” Social Science Quarterly 107 (3). https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.70156 

Morris, John, Binita Mahato, and Joe Aistrup. 2025. "Geographic Sorting of Landslide Presidential
Counties: The American South in Regional Context." Journal of Political Science 53: 1 (6): 119-145. https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/jops/vol53/iss1/6  

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.

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)