DrKomali Yenneti

Skills Training and CPD

Dr Komali Yenneti has led numerous capacity-building and knowledge exchange initiatives, including a UKRI-NERC funded 5-day PhD and Early Career workshop on 'Environmental Contamination and Sustainable Remediation', a 5-day Early Career workshop on 'Geospatial Analytics and Urban Planning' (Aryabhatta Knowledge University, India), and training delivered through the Australia-India and UK-Vietnam Knowledge Exchange Series on smart energy management, climate-smart cities and BIM in construction management education.

Research Keywords

• Urban Sustainability
• Low-Carbon Transitions
• Net-Zero Cities
• Urban Overheating and Heat Mitigation
• Energy Poverty and Justice
• Climate Resilience
• Brownfield Regeneration
• Renewable Energy Policy
• Urban Inequalities
• Gender and the Built Environment

Policy Reports

Yenneti, K. and Worton, G. (2025). Nature Recovery, Nature-Based Solutions and Brownfield Development. University of Wolverhampton and UNESCO Black Country Global Geopark. (Policy Brief)

Yenneti, K., Kundu, D., Singh, P.S. and Teimouri, R. (2023). USF Seminar Series Final Report. Glasgow: Urban Studies Foundation. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.32946.00967 (Research Report). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383206820_USF_Seminar_Series_Final_Report

Yenneti, K. and Ogunfolaju, M. (2022). Damp & Mould Survey. Wolverhampton: University of Wolverhampton (Research report submitted to the City of Wolverhampton Council). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367524270_DAMP_MOULD_SURVEY_2_ACKNOWLEDGMENTS_Title_Damp_Mould_Survey

Rahiman, R., Yenneti, K. and Panda, A. (2019). Making Indian Cities Energy Smart. TERI-UNSW Sydney, New Delhi: The Energy and Resources Institute. (Policy Brief) https://www.teriin.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/Making-Indian-Cities-Energy-Smart_UNSW-TERI.pdf

Ding, L., Upadhyay, A., Craft, W., Yenneti, K., Samaratunga, M., Munsami, K. and Prasad, D. (2019). Validating and Improving the BASIX Energy Assessment Tool for Low-Carbon Dwellings. Sydney: CRC for Low Carbon Living. DOI: 10.25916/5ce8c5c17657d (Research Report). https://apo.org.au/node/230251

Yenneti, K., Craft, W., Ding, L., Newton, P., Santamouris, M. and Prasad, D. (2018). Microclimate and Urban Heat Island Decision-Support Tool: Urban Heat Mitigation Survey Report. Sydney: CRC for Low Carbon Living. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.23158.73287 (Research Report). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356085067_Microclimate_and_urban_heat_island_mitigation_decision_support_tool

Prasad, D., Ding, L., Yenneti, K., Fan, H., Craft, W., Sanchez, A.X., Li, X., Arnold, P., Bouhmad, K., Earley, R., Wang, Y., Wu, J., Li, F., You, N., Fox, J. and Aragon, J.D. (2018). The UN Guidelines for Sustainable Cities and Communities in China. Sustainable Urban Development and Livable Garden Community Programme (SUC Programme), United Nations Environment Programme (UN Publication: Job No: DTI/2207/PA). https://resourceefficientcities.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Guidelines-for-Sustainable-Cities-and-Communities-in-China.pdf

Yenneti, K. (2018). Fostering Partnerships for 'Climate-Smart Cities'. Shashwat, 4(5): 174-177, New Delhi: The Energy and Resources Institute. (Professional Magazine). http://grihaindia.org/files/shashwat/2018/sustainable-habitat/mobile/index.html

Yenneti, K. (2018). Making 'Climate-Smart' Indian Cities. Australia India Institute, 6: 1-16, Melbourne. (Policy Brief). https://www.aii.unimelb.edu.au/publications/very-short-policy-brief/making-climate-smart-indian-cities/

Yenneti, K. and Kasamsetty, S. (2017). Building Integrated Solar Technologies (BIST) for a City's Best. Energy Manager, 10(4): 6-12, SEEM India. (Professional Magazine). http://seemindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Energy-Manager-Issue-40-October-December-2017-1-8-pages.pdf

Yenneti, K., Santamouris, M., Prasad, D. and Ding, L. (2017). Cooling Cities: Strategies and Technologies to Mitigate Urban Heat. Sydney: CRC for Low Carbon Living. (Research Report). http://www.lowcarbonlivingcrc.com.au/sites/all/files/event_file_attachments/discussion_paper_cooling_cities_final.pdf

Yenneti, K. and Joshi, G. (2010). CO2 Emission Reduction Potential from Civil Aviation Sector in India Through Improvements in Operational Procedures – A Case of Delhi-Mumbai Air-Route. In: 3i Networks, Chapter 18, pp.287-309, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, India. (India Infrastructure Report)

Research Interests

Dr Komali Yenneti is an Associate Professor (Reader) in Urban Sustainability in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Wolverhampton. 

An architect, environmental planner and human geographer by training, Dr Yenneti has more than a decade of international academic, research and policy experience across the United Kingdom, India, Australia and China. Her interdisciplinary research addresses sustainable cities, low-carbon transitions, net-zero development, urban overheating, climate resilience, energy justice and socio-spatial inequalities, with particular emphasis on vulnerable communities in the Global South. From 2023 to 2025, she was seconded to the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero as a Building Science and Climate Change Specialist, contributing to national policy guidance on adaptation to residential overheating.

Dr Yenneti has contributed to an international research, knowledge-exchange and policy portfolio valued at approximately £580,000, including around £250,000 secured through projects she has led as Principal Investigator. Her work has been supported by organisations including the British Council, UKRI–NERC, the Urban Studies Foundation, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Natural Science Foundation of China, Australian government agencies and city councils. Her recent leadership includes the British Council-funded BIM-Powered Futures project in Viet Nam and the Women Education Leaders in the Built Environment initiative across Nigeria and Egypt. These programmes have advanced curriculum innovation, transnational education, digital construction skills, institutional capacity and gender equality in higher education.

Her research portfolio includes 33 peer-reviewed journal articles, of which 21 are published in Q1 journals, alongside two edited books, four special issues, eight book chapters, 19 encyclopaedia contributions, 12 policy papers and research reports, and six digital tools and project platforms. She co-edited Smart Cities, Energy and Climate: Governing Cities for a Low-Carbon Future, published by Wiley in 2024. Her research has informed the Telangana Cool Roof Policy in India, urban heat vulnerability and mitigation tools in Australia, and the United Nations Environment Programme’s Guidelines for Sustainable Cities and Communities in China. One of her publications on energy justice was cited in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report.

Dr Yenneti’s research and policy contributions have been featured by ITV Central News, BBC Radio 4, The Hindu, Business Standard, India Today and international university and professional media. She has delivered 15 keynote and invited conference contributions and has served in expert and advisory roles for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Green Building Council of Australia, Commonwealth Secretariat and international research and policy networks.

Her achievements include the International Geographical Union’s inaugural Early Career Research Award, the German Government’s Green Talents Award and recognition in Stanford University’s global top 2% scientist rankings. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Higher Education Academy, Chair of the Quantity Surveyors International UK and Ireland Board, Chair of the University’s Women’s Staff Network and Co-Lead for the REF 2029 People, Culture and Environment submission in Architecture, Built Environment and Planning. Through research, policy engagement and international partnership leadership, Dr Yenneti continues to advance inclusive, climate-resilient and digitally enabled approaches to sustainable urban development and higher education.