Ms. Celine d’Cruz
Visiting Researcher, International Centre for Climate Change and Development and Vice President Block by Block Foundation
Celine d’Cruz is an urban practitioner & began her career as a community development organizer
working with migrant communities living on the pavements of Mumbai, through her NGO
(SPARC) Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers, of which she is a founding member.
Celine is one of the founding members for Slum Dwellers International (SDI) which is a network
of urban poor federations which she co-founded in 1996. She has years of experience building
the capacity of urban poor communities, especially women, to obtain secure housing and basic
municipal services in over 200 cities and towns in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Urban poor
networks in these countries have collaborated with their respective local and national governments
to provide housing and gain effective and sustainable access to services such as sanitation,
health, education and energy.
In 2003-2004, Celine was chosen to the Yale World Fellows Program, Yale University, USA and
subsequently spent time at IIED London as a visiting fellow with the Human Settlements team.
From 2009 to 2010, seconded by SDI, Celine was invited to serve as an Urban Specialist of the
World Bank’s, Cities Alliance Group in Washington, D.C. where she supported the design, implementation
and supervision of slum upgrading strategies in programs in Uganda, Vietnam
and the Philippines.
Since 2016 she worked with the Asian Coalition of Housing Rights supporting the work of the
urban poor federation in Cambodia with their local and national government. She was then part
of the capacity building team on slum enumerations and mapping for 6 countries in Asia.
Presently she serves a Board Member and Director of the Block-By-Block, a foundation supported
by Microsoft (Seattle) and Mojang/Minecraft (Stockholm) focusing on the development of
public spaces agenda with UN Habitat for vulnerable groups in cities.
She is also on the advisory group of Utopia, an urban innovation lab based in San Francisco,
USA working in parts of Africa and Asia.
Recently, Celine has joined the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD),
Bangladesh as visiting researcher where she will be working more closely on the Local led
adaptation agenda and will be part of the design team to set up and build a Climate Bridge
Fund in 10 countries.
Celine lives between Mumbai and Beijing.
working with migrant communities living on the pavements of Mumbai, through her NGO
(SPARC) Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers, of which she is a founding member.
Celine is one of the founding members for Slum Dwellers International (SDI) which is a network
of urban poor federations which she co-founded in 1996. She has years of experience building
the capacity of urban poor communities, especially women, to obtain secure housing and basic
municipal services in over 200 cities and towns in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Urban poor
networks in these countries have collaborated with their respective local and national governments
to provide housing and gain effective and sustainable access to services such as sanitation,
health, education and energy.
In 2003-2004, Celine was chosen to the Yale World Fellows Program, Yale University, USA and
subsequently spent time at IIED London as a visiting fellow with the Human Settlements team.
From 2009 to 2010, seconded by SDI, Celine was invited to serve as an Urban Specialist of the
World Bank’s, Cities Alliance Group in Washington, D.C. where she supported the design, implementation
and supervision of slum upgrading strategies in programs in Uganda, Vietnam
and the Philippines.
Since 2016 she worked with the Asian Coalition of Housing Rights supporting the work of the
urban poor federation in Cambodia with their local and national government. She was then part
of the capacity building team on slum enumerations and mapping for 6 countries in Asia.
Presently she serves a Board Member and Director of the Block-By-Block, a foundation supported
by Microsoft (Seattle) and Mojang/Minecraft (Stockholm) focusing on the development of
public spaces agenda with UN Habitat for vulnerable groups in cities.
She is also on the advisory group of Utopia, an urban innovation lab based in San Francisco,
USA working in parts of Africa and Asia.
Recently, Celine has joined the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD),
Bangladesh as visiting researcher where she will be working more closely on the Local led
adaptation agenda and will be part of the design team to set up and build a Climate Bridge
Fund in 10 countries.
Celine lives between Mumbai and Beijing.