Geeta Mehta Biography 
Geeta Mehta is an American social entrepreneur of Indian origin. She has also tasted success as an urban designer and architect. She is the co-founder of Asia Initiatives and URBZ, and has also authored a few books like Japan Living, Japan Style, Japan Houses, New Japan Architecture and City Connect. Geeta was honored as one of the 21 Leaders of the 21st Century by Women’s e-news in 2015. She has served as a Jury member of many award functions like the Holcim Awards, Gensler Design Excellence Awards etc. She has also served as a PhD thesis guide to students.
During her early days, she was inspired a lot by renowned Indian scientist, Professor M.S. Swaminathan. She along with her husband Krishen Mehta founded an NGO, Asia Initiatives in 1999 in Tokyo, which funds microcredit banks and also sent computers to Village Information Centre projects in South Africa. It also supported projects in education and healthcare in underserved areas.
Mehta developed the concept of Social Capital Credits for social good, redeemable for services or items such as healthcare, education, and skill empowerment. The SoCC team customizes their menus to their specific needs and capabilities. Asia Initiatives completed one among the Top 6 at Amravati Happy Cities competition in April 2018. It has also initiated partnering with SaveLIFE Foundation on implementing SoCCs on the Mumbai Pune Expressway.
Geeta is the co-founding partner of URBZ, which focuses on urban planning and design systems. It has found its place among the top 100 influential names in architecture in the world by the magazine Il Giornale dell'Architettura. Geeta has appeared in a few films like Citizen Jane: Battle for the City.
Published: July 23, 2018
Updated: July 23, 2018
