Jyoti Gupta
Doctoral Student, Community Research and Action Vanderbilt Department of Human & Organizational Development
Creating the Connected City: Engaging Cultural Institutions as Drivers of a Just Nashville
Jyoti earned a degree in public health, focusing on urbanism, the built environment and participatory methods in research and planning for healthy communities and is currently pursuing interests that intersect urbanization, democratic participation, and spatial justice.
Prior to coming to Peabody, Jyoti earned a degree in public health, focusing on urbanism, the built environment and participatory methods in research and planning for healthy communities. She followed her interest in participatory processes as a vehicle toward improved health by working in the public engagement industry. There she designed, facilitated, and evaluated stakeholder engagement projects in a range of issue areas. Her experiences in this work prompted a desire to interrogate participatory processes using an interdisciplinary lens and explore ways they can advance socially just outcomes.
As a doctoral student in the Community Research and Action Program, she is pursuing interests that intersect urbanization, democratic participation, and spatial justice. She collaborates with faculty and fellow students on community-engaged research in gentrifying neighborhoods of Nashville. Her current research explores the production of urban space, the variety of ways that people participate in the making and shaping of cities, and how these modes of participation contribute to social inclusion and/or marginalization. After completing the program, she plans to pursue an academic position where she can conduct and teach applied research.