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Nikil Saval
American politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Nikil Saval (born December 27, 1982) is an American magazine editor, writer, organizer, activist, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represents the 1st district in the Pennsylvania State Senate.
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Early life and education
Saval was born in Los Angeles, California, to parents from Bangalore[1] and grew up in West Los Angeles.[2] He graduated from Columbia College of Columbia University with a B.A. in 2005 and received a Ph.D. in English from Stanford University in 2014.[1][3]
Writing career
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Saval was an editor of n+1,[4] as well as a contributor to The New York Times and The New Yorker, covering architecture and design.[5] As of May 2025, he is an emeritus board member and contributing editor for n+1.[6]
In his 2014 book Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace, Saval traces the evolution of the office workplace, from 19th-century counting houses to modern cubicles, exploring how these workplaces—and the lives of the workers within them—can be improved.[7] The book was named a New York Times notable book of 2014.[8]
Saval's sophomore effort, Rage in Harlem: June Jordan and Architecture, was released in 2024, exploring the collaboration between writer and activist June Jordan and architect and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller to re-conceptualize Harlem following the Harlem race riot of 1964, focusing on Jordan's "Skyrise for Harlem" proposal.[9] The proposal featured the construction of fifteen 100-story conical skyscrapers housing 500,000 people.[10] The work originated from a talk Saval delivered at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and was co-published with the institution and Sternberg Press.[9]
Saval is currently working on a book entitled Everything is Architecture, an analysis of the politics of industrial design.[11]
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Political career
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Activism
Saval was a co-founder of Reclaim Philadelphia, an organization that formed out of the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. His group helped elect Larry Krasner to district attorney of Philadelphia.[12] In 2018, Saval became the Ward Leader of Philadelphia's 2nd Ward.[13]
Pennsylvania State Senate
In 2020, he challenged Democratic incumbent Larry Farnese for his seat in the Pennsylvania State Senate,[2] earning the endorsement of Senator Bernie Sanders in May 2020.[14] Saval based his campaign around a Green New Deal, prison reform, guaranteed affordable housing, redevelopment of Philadelphia schools, and Medicare for All.[15] He beat Farnese in the primary and became de facto State Senator-elect, as he had no opposition in the general election.[15][16]
He became a member of the Democratic Socialists of America in 2014.[14] He has historically been a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and is currently a member, as of June 2025.[17]
In 2022, Saval introduced the Whole-Home Repairs Act, legislation which aims to provide eligible residents with grants of up to $50,000 to make health-and-safety focused home repairs. Small landlords would also be eligible to apply for similar loans under the same program, and the state government would also invest in training qualified home-repair workers. This program is partly intended to help low-income residents become eligible for federal grants from the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), which subsidizes energy-efficiency upgrades for poorer residents. Despite Saval himself’s position on the left wing of the Democratic party, Saval’s bill has received signals of support from several Republican committee chairs.[18]
In 2024, Saval supported a legislative proposal to increase housing supply in Pennsylvania by reducing onerous zoning regulations that restrict housing. The bill would permit duplexes in small towns and fourplexes in mid-sized towns previously zoned exclusively for single-family housing, as well as permit accessory dwelling units in all areas zoned for single-family housing.[19]
For the 2025-2026 Session, Saval serves on the following committees in the State Senate:[20]
- Urban Affairs & Housing (Minority Chair)
- Environmental Resources & Energy
- Judiciary
- State Government
- Transportation
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Personal life
Saval is married to Shannon Garrison.[1] The couple live in Philadelphia with their sons.[21]
Books
- Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace (2014), ISBN 9780385536578
- Rage in Harlem: June Jordan and Architecture (2024), Sternberg Press / Harvard University Graduate School of Design, ISBN 9783956796296
References
External links
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