Sheela Patel | |
|---|---|
 Patel speaking at the 2011 Opening Plenary of World Water Week | |
| Born | 1952 (age 72–73) |
| Alma mater | Tata Institute of Social Sciences |
Sheela Patel (born 1952) is an activist and academic involved with people living inslums andshanty towns.
In 1974, Patel received her Masters in Social Work from theTata Institute of Social Sciences inMumbai. She was then involved with a community centre called the Nagpada Neighbourhood House.[1]
WithPrema Gopalan, Patel is the founding director of theSociety for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC), which she set up inMumbai in 1984 as an advocacy group for thepavement dwellers of Mumbai. SPARC continues to this day to play a major role in the politics of slum development inIndia and throughout theThird World.[2] In 2000, SPARC was the recipient of theUnited Nations Human Settlement Award.[1]
Patel works closely with theNational Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) andMahila Milan, two community-based groups working on with the poor in Indian cities. She worked in the National Technical Advisory Group (NTAG) for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
She has founded theAsian Coalition for Housing Rights, theAsian Women and Shelter Network andSwayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), an organisation that works with women's collectives in more than 600 villages in Maharashtra.[1]
Patel is also one of the founders ofSlum Dwellers International, a network of community-based organisations in 33 countries spanning Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
2011:Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian honor in India.[3]
2009: David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award[1]
2000:UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award
2025: In Forbes Global 50 over 50 list