Madhav G. Badami
Joint appointment with the Bieler School of Environment
Ph.D., University of British Columbia
M.E.Des., University of Calgary
M.S., Indian Institute of Technology
B.Tech., Indian Institute of Technology
Ph.D. dissertation
A multiple-objectives approach to address motorized two-wheeled vehicle emissions in Delhi, India
Professor Badami has a joint appointment in the School of Urban Planning and the Bieler School of Environment. After having studied mechanical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, he spent nine years in diesel engine development in the Indian truck and bus industry. He then obtained a Master's degree in environmental science at the University of Calgary, and a Ph.D. from the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia. Apart from his joint appointment, he is a core faculty member in the inter-faculty BA&Sc programme in Sustainability, Science and Society.
Research and Teaching Interests
Environmental policy and planning; urban infrastructure and services; urban transport; alternative transport fuels; and environment and development.
My geographic areas of interest are the Indian sub-continent, Asia and North America. I attempt to study issues in their multiple (scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional, and human behavioural) dimensions, in a manner that is policy-relevant and contextually grounded. I am interested in the following issues and approaches: policy and technology choice; science-policy interactions; political economy of decision-making; techno-economic and life-cycle analyses; multi-criteria decision-making; equity impacts of policies; and institutional mechanisms for effective policy-making and implementation.
Selected Fellowships, Memberships, and Recognitions
Engineering Class of 1944 Award for Outstanding Teaching, McGill University, 2021
Member, Advisory Council for the World Resources Institute Ross Prize for Cities (http://www.wrirosscities.org/prize/advisory-council), since February 2018
Member, Governance Council, Sustainability Projects Fund, McGill Office of Sustainability, McGill University, 2020-2022
Member-at-Large, Executive Council, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, 2018-19
Faculty Advisor, McCall MacBain Scholarships, McGill University, 2021
Visiting Senior Research Fellowship, Global Urban Research Centre, School of Environment, Education and Development, The University of Manchester, April-June 2015
Bartlett Visiting Research Fellowship for 2014-2015, related to Human Well-Being at the Bartlett, University of College London, January-March 2015
Recent Peer-reviewed Publications (since 2017)
Note: Students and Research Associates are identified with an asterisk
Leclerc, S.H.* and M.G. Badami. 2024. “Extended producer responsibility: An empirical investigation into municipalities' contributions to and perspectives on e-waste management”. Environmental Policy and Governance. Vol. 34. pp. 111–124. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.2059.
Leclerc, S.H.* and M.G. Badami. 2023. “Informal E-Waste Flows in Montréal: Implications for Extended Producer Responsibility and Circularity”. Environmental Management. Vol. 72. pp. 1032–1049. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-023-01857-2.
Hickson, S.*, M.G. Badami, K. Manaugh, J. DeWeese*, and A. El-Geneidy. 2023. “Who is buying SUVs and Light Trucks in Montreal? A Factor and Cluster Analysis”. Transportation Research Record. Vol. 2677, Issue 8. pp. 541–552. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981231156920.
Seufert, V.*, S. E. Austin*, M.G. Badami, S. Turner, and N. Ramankutty. 2023. “The diversity of organic farmer motivations and livelihoods in the Global South – A case study in Kerala, India”. Geoforum. Vol. 138, Article 103670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.103670.
Leclerc, S. H.* and M.G. Badami. 2022. “Material circularity in large organizations: Action-research to shift information technology (IT) material flows”. Journal of Cleaner Production. Vol. 348, Article 131333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131333.
Krelling, C.* and M.G. Badami. 2022. “Cost-effectiveness analysis of compressed natural gas implementation in the public bus transit fleet in Delhi, India”. Transport Policy. Vol. 115, pp. 49-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.10.019.
Leclerc, S.H.* and M.G. Badami. 2020. “Extended producer responsibility for E-waste management: Policy drivers and challenges”. Journal of Cleaner Production. Vol. 251, Article 119657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119657.
Krelling, C.* and M.G. Badami. 2020. “CNG and diesel urban buses in India: A life-cycle cost comparison”. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation. Vol. 14, No. 8. pp. 591-605. https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2019.1594468.
Sadoway, D.*, G. Gopakumar, V. Baindur, and M.G. Badami. 2018. “JNNURM as a Window on Urban Governance -- Its Institutional Footprint, Antecedents and Legacy”. Economic & Political Weekly. Vol. 53, No. 2. pp. 71-81. https://www.epw.in/journal/2018/2/special-articles/jnnurm-window-urban-governance.html.
van Lierop, D.*, M.G. Badami, and A.M. El-Geneidy. 2018. “What influences satisfaction and loyalty in public transport? A review of the literature”. Transport Reviews. Vol. 38, Issue 1. pp. 52-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2017.1298683.
Verbich, D.*, M.G. Badami, and A.M. El-Geneidy. 2017. “Bang For The Buck: Toward A Rapid Assessment Of Public Transit From Multiple Perspectives In North American Cities”. Transport Policy. Vol. 55. pp. 51-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2016.12.002.
Non-refereed Articles (since 2017)
Badami, M.G. 2021. “Coronavirus as warning shot”. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2021/apr/15/coronavirus-warning-shot
Badami, M.G. 2020. "Addressing the Urban Air-Pollution Challenge". Invited op-ed on the theme of "Cleaning City Skies" in the Voices series. One Earth. Volume 2, Issue 2, 21 February 2020, Pages 113-116. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332220300440.
Scholarly Public Lectures, Seminars, Presentations, and Workshops (since 2017)
Invited panelist in the session on “How to incorporate sustainable transport principles in Transportation Education”, in the Inaugural Sustainable Transportation Round Table, McGill’s Sustainable Growth Initiative, McGill Desautels Faculty of Management, April 5, 2024. https://www.mcgill.ca/desautels/channels/event/inaugural-sustainable-transportation-round-table-356144.
Invited public seminar titled “Compressed Natural Gas Buses in India: Seeing through the Air Pollution Lens, Darkly” delivered in the DPU Dialogues in Development series, Development Planning Unit, University College London, June 1, 2023. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/development/events/2023/jun/compressed-natural-gas-buses-india-seeing-through-air-pollution-lens-darkly.
Invited panel presentation titled “The Urban Transport Prospects, Challenges and Strategies in the Global South” in the Global Transportation session in the McGill Sustainability Research Symposium on Sustainable Transportation, February 11, 2022. https://mcgillsustainabilitysymposium.wordpress.com/past-symposiums/2022-edition/.
Invited presentation titled “Sustainability Challenges, Prospects, Strategies” in the Canada-Africa Innovation Fellowship Program, Engineers Without Borders, July 14, 2021.
Invited Jury Member, 2022 BRIDGE Sustainability case competition, McGill University, January 23, 2022. https://www.bridgecasecomp.com/
Invited Jury Member, Environmental Policy Case Competition, organized by the Research and Sustainability Network, McGill University, November 11, 2021.
Invited Jury Member, McGill Policy Association Case competition on housing policy in Mumbai, organized by the McGill Policy Association and the International Development Studies Students Association (IDSSA), McGill University, February 26, 2021. https://mcgillpolicyassociation.com/latest-articles/case-comp-2021.
Invited participant, Experts’ Workshop on low-carbon transport and sustainable development goals, organized by the OPTIMISM India project team at Ahmedabad University, July 7, 2020.
Invited workshop and brainstorming session titled "Urban Transport Challenge in India: The Gap between Needs and Policy", including a panel discussion with Sudhir Badami, Hussain Indorewala, Ratoola Kundu, and Sujit Patwardhan, at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, December 24, 2019.
Invited public seminar titled "Operational and Financial Performance of Delhi’s CNG Bus Transit Fleet: A Critical Evaluation" delivered at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, December 23, 2019.
Participant in, and panelist, along with G.S.R. Chaitanya on "Missing public in policy" at, the Do Din 2019 event organized by the Hyderabad Urban Lab, Hyderabad, December 21-22, 2019.
Invited public seminar titled "Urban Transport in India: Why are things the way they are, and what can we do about it?" at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, December 20, 2019.
Invited presentation on "Sustainable Cities and Communities: Challenges, Prospects and Approaches" at the Conference on Engaging India and Canada: Gandhian Approach to Sustainable Development Goals, organized by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, April 29, 2019.
Invited participant in the inter-disciplinary workshop on "Approaches to Frontiers in Urban Infrastructure Research and Action", held at the Global Development Institute, The University of Manchester, November 12-13, 2018.
Invited panel discussant on "Urban Mobility and Public Transit in the Global South", at the XVI International Conference on the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility, held at Concordia University, October 24-27, 2018.
Presentation titled "Discontents of Sustainable Mobility in Indian Cities." with Govind Gopakumar at the Conference on Engaging India and Canada: Challenges of Sustainable Development Goals, organized by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, India International Centre, New Delhi, June 8-9, 2018.
Invited Discussant, Workshop on “Human Rights-based Approach to Development: A Case of Access to Water in Pakistan”, by Mr. Fayyaz Baqir, McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, Faculty of Law, October 25, 2017.
Poster presentation titled “Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute Funding: Long-term Impacts”, with Christian Krelling, at the Shastri 50 - India 70 - Canada 150: A Celebration of Collaboration between India and Canada event, in the Commonwealth Room, House of Commons, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, October 5, 2017.
Invited panelist, Panel discussion on Society & the Environment: a Multidisciplinary Perspective, organized by WWF McGill and the AUS McGill Environmental Council, McGill University, January 17, 2017.