Taru Taru

Dr. Taru is an urban planner, researcher, and educator whose work bridges the intersections of governance, resilience, and community-engaged planning across the Global North and Global South. She holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, a Master of Regional Planning (MRP) from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.

With over a decade of experience in planning practice, applied research, and teaching, her scholarship examines hybrid institutional arrangements, plural property regimes, and the co-production of resilience through local and transnational networks. Her current research explores how hybrid and Indigenous governance systems shape disaster response, adaptive planning, and equity-centered resilience, particularly in contexts of migration, displacement, and climate change.

At Salem State University, Dr. Taru teaches courses in environmental geography, GIS, and climate resilience, including Global Environmental Issues, Introduction to Maps and GIS, Global Geography and Change, and Urban Geography and Sustainable Cities. Her pedagogy emphasizes experiential, community-based, and data-informed approaches to planning, integrating participatory mapping, spatial analysis, and applied policy practice through partnerships with local organizations, municipalities, and regional planning agencies.

Her PhD dissertation, “Building Better Disaster Response and Community Resilience through Institutional Hybridity: On Equity-Centered Governance during the Pandemic,” analyzes the formation of a hybrid planning institution during India’s COVID-19 lockdown and its implications for disaster governance, inclusion, and state capacity. Beyond her dissertation, her research extends to pandemic-era anti-eviction initiatives in Detroit, comparative governance and land systems in Ghana and India, and regional decarbonization and climate action planning in Massachusetts.

Before joining Salem State, she served as Principal Resiliency Planner at the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission, where she led climate action, decarbonization, and land use planning across more than 70 municipalities. Her prior collaborations with CivicMoxie, the Ginsberg Center at the University of Michigan, and the United Community Housing Coalition in Detroit reflect her ongoing commitment to inclusive, justice-oriented, and interdisciplinary planning practice.

Research Themes

• Institutional Hybridity and Disaster Governance

• Resilience Planning and Climate Adaptation

• Plural Property Regimes and Land Governance

• Housing Precarity, Displacement, and Anti-Eviction Strategies

• Governance and Planning for Transient and Migrant Populations

• Comparative Urbanism in the Global South (India and Ghana)

Applied Planning and Policy Areas

• Urban and Regional Planning Practice

• Climate Action and Decarbonization Strategies

• Sustainable and Adaptive Land Use Planning

• Community-Engaged and Participatory Planning

• Environmental Policy and Multi-Level Governance

• Spatial Data Analysis, Participatory GIS, and Mapping for Equity

Teaching and Pedagogical Interests

• Experiential and Applied Learning in Planning and Geography

• Integration of GIS, Design, and Spatial Analysis in Planning Education

• Collaborative Governance Simulations and Role-Based Learning

• Community Partnerships and Service-Learning in Higher Education

• Critical Pedagogies of Inclusion, Equity, and Environmental Justice

Book Chapters

Taru, & Berke, T. (under review.). Integrating marginalized transient populations into urban policy: Livelihood challenges and opportunities in the Global South. In F. Owusu & K. M. Otiso (Eds.), Research Agenda for Urban Livelihoods in the Global South (under review).

Taru, & Murray, M. (2024). New build cities in Africa. In P. R. Carmody & J. T. Murphy (Eds.), Handbook of Economic Development in Africa. Routledge.

Journal Articles and Essays

Taru. (2021). Hope in action – Responding to the pandemic as researcher-activists? International Journal of Urban and Regional Research (IJURR), Spotlight Essay.

Taru. (2012). Dichotomy within the city. GroundUp Journal, Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

Selected Research Reports and Policy Briefs

Taru, Pimentel Walker, A. P., & Schaeffer, P. (2023). Anti-eviction initiatives in Detroit. Peer-reviewed e-published report in collaboration with the Urban Institute and United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC).

Taru. (2022). Migrant experiences during the pandemic and governance strategies. Policy report for PHIA Foundation and the State Government of Jharkhand.

Taru, & Ginsberg Consulting Team, University of Michigan. (2019). Advantages of Employers Resource Networks for local economic development. Prepared for the City of Ann Arbor. (Role: Interviewed key stakeholders, synthesized findings, and co-authored final report.)

Taru, Warner, M., & Team, Cornell University. (2014). Chronic underfunding for transportation: New York State’s response to local infrastructure needs. Cornell University.

Selected Professional Reports for Clients

Taru. (2023). Process mapping and training toolkit for caseworkers at Safe and Responsible Migration Initiative. Consulting report for the State Migrant Control Room, Government of Jharkhand, India.

Taru. (2021). Evaluating the effectiveness of State Migrant Control Room. Consulting report for PHIA Foundation and the State Government of Jharkhand.

Taru, & Civic Moxie Team. (2017). Worcester downtown economic development plan. Prepared for state-based agencies and the City of Worcester, Connecticut, USA.

Taru, & Civic Moxie Team. (2017). Manchester Connects: Redevelopment and activation plan for the Manchester Industrial District. Prepared for the City of Manchester, New Hampshire, USA. (Role: Project planner and designer.)

Book

Taru, & Hameed, Y. (2016). Khaleeq Ashfaq Khan: A journey in colors. Studio Square Publications. (New Delhi, India).

Invited Lectures and Workshops

Taru. (2022). Insurgent planning and deep democracy: Speaking truth to power? Invited lecture to Radical Planning Seminar, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Taru. (2020). Invited speaker at GPEIG, POCIG, and GPEC Special Session, Migration, human rights, and global movements against racism in times of COVID-19, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Annual Meeting.

Taru. (2019). Adapting place in Accra in the face of contested memory, identity, and spatial entrenchment. Paper presented at the U-M/WiSER Mellon Workshop, Spatial Typologies and the Built Environment: Navigating African Urban Landscapes, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Refereed Paper Presentations (2016–2023)

Taru. (2023, October). From crisis response to institutional change: Understanding how the pandemic affected governance in Jharkhand, India. Paper presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Annual Conference.

Taru. (2023, February). Launching a people-centered crisis response: Building institutions to help marginalized communities in precarity. Paper presented at the International Conference on Sustainable and Inclusive Urban Development, New Delhi, India.

Taru. (2022, August). Pandemic response at the global periphery. Paper presented at the RC21 Annual Meeting, Athens, Greece.

Taru. (2022, April). Migrant crisis during the pandemic: Understanding flux, precarity, and citizenship. Paper presented at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting (online).

Taru. (2021, November). Hope during a pandemic: Can institutional hybridity improve the response to crisis? Paper presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Annual Conference (online).

Taru. (2020, November). Planning pluralism and property regimes on the urban periphery: A study of Sekondi–Takoradi, Ghana. Paper presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Annual Conference (online).

Borsellino, M., & Taru. (2020, April). Aspiration for whom: Aesthetic language in Detroit and Delhi. Paper presented at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting (online).

Taru, & Sanga, N. (2019, April). Techno-political resource grab and spatial flows of resistance in democratic societies. Paper presented at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting.

Taru. (2018, January). Auditing access and inclusion in infrastructure planning in the Global South. Paper presented at the 97th Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

Taru, & Gajare, R. (2017, December). Adivasi identity, haunting, and reconciliation: Negotiating cultural memory and displacement. Paper presented at the ICOMOS 19th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium, New Delhi, India.

Taru. (2017, March). Rethinking development and development actors: Conflict, right-holder alliances, and iterative planning. Paper presented at the International Conference on Development in Question, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Taru. (2016, December). Lessons on participatory planning and project implementation from inclusive projects in New England, USA. Paper presented at the International Workshop on Inclusive Cities, Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, New Delhi, India.

Organizational Roles

Taru, & Subramanyam, N. (2022). Co-organizers, Resilience and research in ordinary cities during crises (Stream panel). RC21 Annual Meeting.

Taru, Hwang, C., & Albader, B. (2020). Co-organizers, Utopia vs. the City (International Biennial P+ARG Conference). University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. www.utopiavsthecity.com

Taru, & P+ARG Board. (2020). Co-organizers, Roundtable with Saskia Sassen. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Taru, & P+ARG Board. (2019). Co-organizers, Lecture and Colloquium with John Arroyo, Shadow suburbanism: Mexican everyday life, fear, and space in Greater Atlanta. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Taru, P+ARG Board, & Debtor Urbanization. (2019). Co-organizers, Lecture and Colloquium with Fenaba Addo, Racial disparities in student loan debt. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.