Los Angeles mayor-elect Nithya Raman worked on Chennai urban planning
The Kerala-born urban planner previously led a civic initiative in Chennai to address local infrastructure and traffic issues.
Los Angeles mayor-elect Nithya Raman previously worked as an urban planner in Chennai, where she helped residents document civic issues, according to the Times of India. The 45-year-old, who was born in 1981, worked in the city from 2004 to 2013.
During her time in Chennai, Raman founded Transparent Chennai, a civic initiative under the Centre for Development Finance at the Institute for Financial Management and Research. The organisation used community participation and data to address urban governance.
V Rama Rao, an activist from Nanganallur, said the work involved holding community forums and gathering information on pedestrian safety, public transport, and infrastructure gaps. This data was intended for presentation to municipal corporations and the Chennai traffic police to create solutions.
Raman has previously noted in international interviews that her organisation evaluated public toilets across the city and studied the working conditions of recycling workers to help them gain state government recognition.
Raman moved to Louisiana at age six and became a US citizen by age 22. She holds an urban planning degree from Harvard University. Her father, R Venkataraman, worked at Keltron, while her mother, Sudha, was employed with Indian Overseas Bank.