Sapna Advani

FOUNDING PRINCIPAL
DIRECTOR, URBAN DESIGN AND COMMUNITY PLANNING

Sapna leads the Urban Planning division at Grain. She is constantly seeking out opportunities that address the ways equity and ethnic and socioeconomic diversity can reshape the urban environment.

Sapna employs research and analysis, community outreach, and strategic communications to lay the foundation for communal spaces that are both functional and meaningful to their users. In her 15+ years of industry experience, she has led projects including resiliency planning, strategic planning for libraries and transit corridors, and community planning in both the public and private sectors. Her long partnership with NYCHA, the New York City Housing Authority, has focused on engagement – soliciting opinions and building trust with public housing residents.

A passionate traveler, Sapna has lived in India, Iraq, England and the United States. Today she resides with her family in Brooklyn, New York, which has led to repeat collaborations in her own urban backyard with organizations including the Prospect Park Alliance, the Brooklyn Greenway in Red Hook, and the Brooklyn Public Library.