URBANovation is a podcast on innovative ideas for emerging cities in Asia.
Cities in East and Southeast Asia continue to expand, as 120,000 people move into cities every single day. They face continually evolving crises, from increasingly common heatwaves and floods to the persistent yet growing issues of traffic and inequality. If we are to address these dynamic challenges, we cannot stick to traditional methods of designing, building, and governing cities.
The good news is that there are people across the region who are working on innovative solutions. They come in scales big and small, from infrastructural solutions like sponge parks that absorb floodwater, to smartphone apps that enable everyday people to participate in shaping their communities.
URBANovation shares these solutions to show that we can rethink urban systems, and discuss the adaptability and feasibility of these solutions across local contexts. Featuring guests experienced with working in Asian cities, for the complex challenges faced by rapidly urbanising regions. We want to show that a better urban future is possible.
About the Team
URBANovation is hosted at the Young Urbanists of Southeast Asia (YUSEA). YUSEA is a pan-Southeast Asian network of people interested in Southeast Asian urbanism from diverse viewpoints, professional and identity backgrounds. Our mission is to build intergenerational connections and dialogue between youths and senior urbanists and create a forum for peer-to-peer learning and capacity building.
NGUYEN Dang Dao
Dao Nguyen (Vietnam) is the Co-Founder of YUSEA and Co-Host of URBANovation. Dao is currently a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University, focusing on green, smart and inclusive cities in China and Southeast Asia.
Joshua VARGAS
Joshua Vargas (the Philippines) is the Co-Founder of YUSEA and Co-Host of URBANovation. Joshua is a researcher of smart city technologies at Future Cities Laboratory Global, an urban science programme founded by ETH Zurich and the National Research Foundation, Singapore.
Timothy HENARES
Timothy Henares (the Philippines) is the Organizational Relationship Manager at YUSEA. He also serves as Project Manager at Asia Society Philippines, collaborating with AidData on the financial implications and media narratives of China’s investments.
XIE Zongxu
Xie Zongxu (China) holds a Bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University in Hydraulic Engineering and is currently a PhD researcher at Tsinghua and Oxford University. He also has a Master’s degree in Global Governance from the School of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University. He is the Co-Founder of Tsinghua Global Youth Diaogue (TGYD).
Dunya GURSES
Dunya Gurses (Singapore) is a Podcast Manager for URBANovation. She is a Teaching Assistant at the National University of Singapore, Geography department. She majored in Urban Studies at Yale-NUS College and is interested in urban sustainability issues, placemaking and urban heritage.
NG Sze Xuan
Ng Sze Xuan (Singapore) is a Podcast Manager for URBANovation. She currently does research at the Centre for Liveable Cities, and recently finished her undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, where she studied Geography. She is interested in the areas of public space and everything urban!
Yusril NURHIDAYAT
Yusril Nurhidayat (Indonesia) is a Podcast Manager for URBANovation. He is also Co-President of STEAR (Student Think Tank for Europe-Asia Relations), and a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Research and Public Policy and a minor in Theater from New York University Abu Dhabi.
John Warren TAMOR
John Warren Tamor (the Philippines) is a Podcast Manager for URBANNovation. He is an Erasmus Mundus Scholar across four European universities, studying the twin transition. Currently, he is a Smart Cities Researcher for BABLE GmbH focusing on facilitating B2G and B2B urban innovation projects.
