Misha Mittal
Independent Consultant, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Title: Adaptation of Technology for Urban Health: Issues, pathways and approaches
Misha Mittal
is trained in architecture and her experience spans various domains in UAE, UK,
and India. Her past engagements include architectural consultancy, interior
design and contracting academic consulting, and government regulations. She
advocates the inclusion of well-being in projects and professions to achieve
sustainability.
Misha has
appeared as a guest speaker at many regional and international urban planning,
humanitarian, and technology conferences. A few of these are the Middle East
Smart Landscape Summit, Humanitarian Technology, and Equipment Summit,
Transit-Oriented Development Summit, and Smart Cities World Expo. She has been
involved as a career mentor with her alma mater Cardiff University, is a
Registered Architect, a member of ISOCARP, and a Council Member of the
UAE-India Business Council of Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Research interest:
Urban health is a spotlight issue even more since the pandemic. Two years into the pandemic, the city governments now have multiple studies and evidence to acknowledge that approaches are required to view the city from a different lens. As the cities grow to be more populated reaching 68% densification by 2050, we need tools that can foster health and encourage a peaceful environment for the city dwellers; while also substantially reducing carbon emissions. The current built environment is responsible for almost 40% of the global carbon emissions. “Rising emissions in the buildings and construction sector emphasize the urgent need for a triple strategy to aggressively reduce energy demand in the built environment, decarbonize the power sector and implement materials strategies that reduce lifecycle carbon emissions,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Research has also shown that the built environment, directly and indirectly, affects mental health. Declining mental health in turn has an impact on the economy, populations displacement, disputes on resource scarcity, and collective violence. The question then is, how do we bring all these issues together, what can we do and how do we do this as SMEs and individuals? In this presentation, I will discuss how technology can be adopted by developers, architects, engineers, and wellness professionals in prioritizing well-being, promoting urban health, and making buildings and the urban environment more energy conscious.
