Mukta Naik is an architect and urban planner with research and policy expertise in the domain of urban poverty, affordable housing, internal migration and sustainable livelihoods. She has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals and in digital and print media. Naik has led diverse projects including policy research on youth migration and employment in smaller cities, affordable rentals and women's work on digital platforms, and has been part of on-ground initiatives on slum upgradation and participative planning. Naik has degrees from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Texas A&M University, USA and Erasmus University Rotterdam.