About Us
CRITICAL THINKING FOR URBAN ISSUES
Citieslab is a unique entity that evokes the critical thinking of urban planning to provide practical, creative, and relevant solutions for the many urban challenges. We provide practical solutions and inspiration through new, creative ideas and approaches to solve or mitigate urban problems. We believe that urbanization in Indonesia and the broader region must generate clear and impactful value: prosperity, inclusiveness, liveability. The benefits of urbanization are tangible and substantial: urban areas tend to be more productive and provide better access to services and infrastructure, on average, compared to rural areas. However, the challenges are also complex, and not all places and all people have benefitted to the same degree. Planners inherently has the moral and professional responsibility to intervene through policies and planning products to design policies and plans that address social and economic inequities. On the other hand, national and local governments must gear itself towards the right policies, plans and interventions to ignite positive outcomes. Citizens, Non government actors and businesses are also significant stakeholder in any effort to create a sustainable and liveable cities. Citieslab strive to promote and contribute to the research and incubation of cutting edge solutions, innovative planning and professional development of planner and designers alike, policy makers and governments in tackling urban issues of today and tomorrow.
The core activities of Citieslab include:
1. Research
2. Design Incubation
3. Thought Leadership & Capacity Building
Citieslab was established as a collaborative initiative that brings together leading experts and senior practitioners from Indonesia and the international community in the fields of urban & regional planning, urban design and development. Our Senior Fellows and Fellows are leading thought leaders in the field. Citieslab was established in 2017 by Principals and Founders of Nusantara Urban Advisory (NUA) together with Indonesia’s leading experts in the field of urban and regional planning, Bernardus Djonoputro, Dr. Hendricus Andy Simarmata and Adriadi Dimastanto. At its inception, Citieslab's strategic objective was to strengthen the capacity of planners within NUA. In recent years, has expanded its portfolios to the urban surveys and researches, public engagement, capacity building, workshops, thought leadership events, education events, etc. . The daily operation of Citieslab is managed by Dayinta Pinasthika. Citieslab's corporate partners include: the Indonesian Association of Planners (IAP), HD Asia Advisory, dan EAROPH Club Indonesia.
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Co-Founder & Senior Fellow
Ir. Bernardus Djonoputro, MM, IAP
Bernardus is an Indonesian urbanist, explorer and impact investor. He is the Chairman and co-founder of Nusa Citieslab, a leading urbanization and metropolitan governance advocacy group based in Indonesia. From 2022-2025 he was the first CEO of the Rebana Metropolitan Management Agency in West Java, Indonesia’s largest and most promising economic corridor in Indonesia.
Dr. Phil Hendricus Andy Simarmata, IAP
Hendricus Andy Simarmata is one of Indonesia’s prominent sustainable urban planner and development expert. He earned his Dr.Phil (Ph.D.) in Development Studies from one of the leading research universities in Germany, The University of Bonn. He was the President of Indonesian Association of urban and regional Planners (IAP) from 2019-2025 and was one of the ISOCARP Scientific Committee members from 2020-2025.
Emil Wiranegara, SE
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Adriadi Dimastanto, ST, M.Ars, IAP
Dimas is an award winning urban planner and Founder and Managing Director of Nusantara Urban Advisory (NUA). Dimastanto is currently the sitting President of the Indonesian Association of Urban and Regional Planners (IAP) and a dedicated member of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP).
International Senior Fellow
Alfonso Vegara
Alfonso Vegara is the Founder and Honorary President of the Fundación Metrópoli, an international center of excellence focused on research, design, and innovation in cities globally. His multifaceted expertise as an Architect, Economist, and Sociologist, combined with his Doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning, has positioned him at the forefront of urban development and strategic city planning.
Sebastien Goethals
A city planner, architect and transport planning expert from Belgium, Sebastien gained global expertise over the past 15 years in the fields of urbanism, mobility and green infrastructure in Europe, China, Africa and North America. He has worked as a strategic planning expert in infrastructure, transportation and data analytics for cities with: the European Union; UN Habitat; the World Bank; and local governments in China, Africa, Belgium and Canada.
Imelda Rosalin
Imelda is an architect and urban planner with a doctorate from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) School of Architecture, Planning, and Policy Development (SAPPK ITB). Besides Land Value Capture, Imelda's expertise also includes the History, Theory, and Criticism of Architecture. She currently works as a professional jazz pianist and vocalist.
Cornel Juniarto
Cornel Juniarto is a distinguished legal leader with 29 years of experience, currently serving as the Managing Partner of Hermawan Juniarto & Partners. His career is defined by entrepreneurial firm leadership, most recently demonstrated as Country Managing Partner for Deloitte Legal Indonesia, and includes founding several prominent practices such as Hermawan Juniarto (in association with Hogan Lovells) and Hermawan, Prasetyo & Juniarto.
Toyosaki Yoshihisa
Toyosaki san experties in the sector of semi conductor and smart city. He is the Representative Director Matrix of Cyber Smart City Creative Consortium (MCSCC), the network of smart cities, governments and private sectors in Japan. His experience include as senior management position at Fairchild, Sony Semiconductor, Signetics, Philips Semiconductor, and LSI Logic.
Kevin Evans
Kevin Evans is Governance Reform and Electoral pokitics expert. He is Indonesia Director of The Australia-Indonesia Centre. Kevin has been a student of Southeast Asia in general and Indonesia in particular for 35 years. During the 25 years he has lived in Indonesia he has worked variously as a diplomat, stock broker, academic and NGO activist.
Rizki Handayani Mustafa
Rizki Handayani graduated with Urban and Regional Planning from Bandung Institute of Technology, and a Master Degree in Tourism from the Victoria University, Australia. She is the Deputy Minister for Tourism Product and Events, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Republic of Indonesia. With accumulated extensive knowledge and experience for almost 30 years, Rizki Handayani has play an important role in the growth and development of tourism industry in Indonesia.
Teti Armiati Argo
She is a local of Bandung and Toronto, currently she is an Associate Professor at The School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, Bandung Institute of Technology, and at the Planning School at University of Toronto. Her experties are in sustainable Regional Planning & Community Based Disaster Management, Ecological Politics of Clean Water , Rural Urban Relations, Environment & Management.
Rupak Chattopadhyay
Rupak Chattopadhyay is President of the Forum of Federations, a global network on federalism, that brings together elected officials, civil servants, and experts involved in federalism from around the world. Recently he co-authored a comparative study on Apex Level Intergovernmental relations (World Bank 2019) for submission to the Fifteenth Finance Commission of India.
