Dr. Kameshwari (Kami) Pothukuchi is a Distinguised Service Professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Main Discipline(s):

Main Professional Societies:

Affiliation(s):

  • Urban Planning
  • Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning
  • American Planning Association
  • Professor, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Wayne State University
What are your undergraduate and graduate degrees in and from where?
Bachelor of Architecture (University of Bombay, now Mumbai, India); Master of Architecture, Master of Urban Planning, PhD in Urban, Technological, and Environmental Planning (University of Michigan).
Give a brief summary (250 words or less) of your current area of research.
Right now, I am reviewing the sources, impacts, and implications of light pollution (light at the “wrong” place and time, and in amounts and with spectral characteristics that pose risks to human and ecological health) from a local policy and planning perspective. It is a relatively new strand of research that was inspired by media attention in 2019 to the significant loss of birds over the last few decades, over a billion since 1970. Light pollution, especially from urban sources, is a big culprit, but not the only one (cats, pesticides, and loss of habitat being the other major ones).
What do you see as a current emerging area of research that you would like to participate in and why?
Right now, I am not looking to join any collaborations due to the particular combination of personal and professional constraints and opportunities in which I am embroiled. I’m of course open to joining one if invited, if the opportunity is interesting, relevant to planning, and accommodating of my particular context as noted previously.
Tell us your (one) favorite STEM research paper or book.   Why it is your favorite?

I don’t have a single favorite as I am attracted to diverse topics and methods related to science and technology even if they may not immediately be relevant to planning. I generally find eco-feminist approaches compelling in thinking about science, environment, and society. The work of authors like Sandra Harding, Vandana Shiva, Maria Mies, and others was formative to my education on these relationships. The history of science and technology is also one of oppression, exploitation, and violence against nature, women, and subaltern groups. Think about the thousands of birds that John James Audubon killed in his quest to document as many as possible (before inspiring an organization dedicated to bird conservation); think also of the Tuskegee syphilis experiments.

Do you have a favorite scientist, engineer or other role model? Who is it and why?
In general, I admire people who are able to act in everyday settings—personal and professional—in ways that integrate scientific knowledge, awareness of social and economic systems, and moral and ethical clarity. They are gentle, conscientious, and constantly searching for ways to create more just practices, with more accountability, for people and nature.
What do you do for fun outside of your role as a woman in STEM?
A lot of thinking about planning is related to everyday settings of homes, neighborhoods, and communities, so there is not as sharp a separation as there can be in other fields, between “work” and “life” as these domains are typically called. Although Covid and my personal situation have caused some recent shifts, I have enjoyed participating in community-based groups engaged on food system topics central to my research; I also enjoy reading fiction, solving crossword puzzles, taking long walks, and making jewelry.

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