The Team

Bio

Hasanatun Nisa Thamrin (commonly known as Icha) holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Diponegoro University, Indonesia. Icha has been actively engaged in participatory planning and development, since her early career. She began her career as a research assistant at her almamater, before joining Kota Kita in 2014. Currently, Icha serves as the Program Manager for the Urban Governance Division at Kota Kita, where she enjoys collaborating with diverse community members, including women, children, elderly, and youth. Since 2015, Icha has been a key figure in organizing and participating in the Urban Citizenship Academy (UCA), a program initiated by Kota Kita to empowering urban youth. Her interests extend to community development and empowerment, sustainability, water governance, and leveraging community participation in the city.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

Icha has been living in Solo since 2014, but she is originally from Bukittinggi, West Sumatra. For Icha, Bukittinggi is a charming small city with a cool climate that offers comfort but limited opportunities for growth. She hopes that Bukittinggi will not only be recognized as a local tourist destination but its natural beauty will gain wider recognized and provide better economic opportunities for the community. She now lives in the more urban area of Solo city, which for her, also needs to provide better economic opportunities for its residents, mainly for the youth.

Bio

Julian is Professor of Inclusive Social Policy at the Bartlett Development Planning Unit of University College London, where he co-leads the Masters in Social Development Practice. Julian’s research explores the links between social diversity and people’s experiences of their cities. In recent years this has included research on: how gender affects off-grid sanitation practices in a number of African cities; how low income urban residents in Indonesia and Sierra Leone access and use assistive technologies, and; how different groups of people are affected by and respond to urban displacement (in Nigeria and Brazil).

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

I live in London which is a wonderful city. However, since I’ve been living here, housing prices and rents have been going up and up, and people on lower incomes, including younger people, are getting pushed further and further out from the centre. I would like London to explore ways of providing more social housing and regulating property markets for a fairer allocation of housing in the city.

Bio

Rifai started his activism trail as an organiser of urban marginal groups, and with nearly 20 years of experience in the NGO world, he has built a very strong portfolio in the areas of project management, urban governance issues, urban informality, urban poverty, participatory budgeting and participatory planning. Rifai is also recognised as a humble and grounded urban activist who really likes working directly with urban communities in solving problems at hand. He is the co-founder of Kota Kita Foundation and since 2016 has been elected as the Executive Director. He holds an MA degree from UIN Yogyakarta, and an MSc from Social Development Practices, DPU, University College London.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

I grew up in Solo, and perhaps that’s why my memories are so deeply connected to this beloved city. My love for Solo was nurtured through my interactions and activities with friends, the community, and fellow activists. This city offers a strong sense of friendship and mutual respect. However, I wish for Solo to retain more of its talented individuals, who often leave due to limited job opportunities. I want Solo to better support its residents by providing more livelihoods and employment opportunities, ensuring they can grow and thrive here.

Bio

Riccardo is the co-founder and Executive Director of CatalyticAction charity. He is an architect and urban designer with over 10 years’ experience in participatory design. He has led numerous placemaking initiatives, overseeing the design and construction of built interventions with vulnerable communities and managing complex design-build projects. With CatalyticAction, he successfully oversaw the implementation of over 47 co-designed child friendly spaces, including playgrounds, schools, parks and street interventions. Before co-founding CatalyticAction, he worked in Nairobi (Kenya) as project manager on a project addressing food security in the Mathare slum. He holds an MSc from University College London and a BSc in Architecture from Politecnico di Milano.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

I live in London and I like the diversity you can experience in this city. I simply enjoy walking and cycling in different parts of the city and experience the different cultures; often through food. I would love to see more parts of the city being closed to traffic and in general have less cars around.

Bio

Asri, often called Aci (pronounced a-chee), holds a degree in urban and regional planning from Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia. She specializes in participatory planning and action research, focusing on urban governance and social inclusion. Recently, she researched safe public spaces for women and inclusive forest city development in Indonesia’s new capital, involving local communities in collectively imagine future public spaces and livelihoods. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring the city through running or cycling.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

Bandung, my hometown, is loved for its heritage sites and green spaces, but heavy traffic makes it unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists. Hoping for a more walkable city with integrated public transport! ??‍♀️??

Bio

Clara Siagian studies the intersection of people, place, and politics with special interests on young people living in Global South cities. With a PhD from the Australian National University, Clara currently serves as a postdoctoral researcher at University College London working on youth participation in urban governance. Her research projects span several issues including housing, child marriage, climate change, and violence from the perspective of young people. Her scholarships have been published in high-impact journals such as Cities, Children’s Geographies, and International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. When she’s not working, she likes to do coastal walks, find cheap and tasty food, and knit.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

I was born in Medan, Indonesia then moved to Jogjakarta, Tokyo, Jakarta, and Canberra after high school, but now I call Sydney home. I love the bustling inner city and the ethnically diverse suburbs of Sydney. What I enjoy most is to spend my weekend either trekking the many beaches and national parks in Sydney accessible by public transport or tasting different cuisines and visiting public libraries of Sydney’s suburbs. If I can change just one thing about Sydney is its exorbitant housing prices and urban sprawling—okay that’s two things.

Bio

Known as Alma, she began her journey with Kota Kita as an intern in 2022, diving into a riverbank public space project, focusing on the survey process. After her time at Kota Kita, she interned in a research team at a tech company, where she discovered her passion for statistics in research. Alma graduated with a degree in Statistics and earned the Intellectual Property Rights (Hak atas Kekayaan Intelektual/HKI) award for her thesis’ computer program. Returning to Kota Kita, she first delved into research on urban civil society organisations in Indonesia. When not working, Alma loves to sketch buildings and read books.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

I enjoy the peaceful atmosphere in Solo, where people are very friendly, no rush, and honking in the streets is rare. Though small, Solo has a rich cultural heritage which is lovely! However I wish we had a large public library with a vast collection of books here!

Bio

Joana Dabaj is the Co-founder and Director of Programmes at CatalyticAction. She holds an MSc from University College London in Building and Urban Design in Development and a Bachelor of Architecture from the American University of Beirut. She is an architect and researcher whose recent work revolves around working closely with displaced and host communities in Lebanon to co-design inclusive research and built interventions; this includes participatory design, citizen science led research, advocacy, capacity building and community engaged construction. Joana has over 9 years of experience in using participatory design and research methodologies, working with diverse communities.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

I live in London and I like that there is a wide range of activities to do here. I also like that every other house in my street has a cat. I would like to change the weather and have more sun. I would also like that people develop a greater sense of community living.

Bio

Andrea is a co-Principal Investigator of this project. His professional and research work focuses on how power relations affect the participation of different people and social groups in decision-making processes at different scales. He is interested in how residents’ participation is managed within urban development projects, particularly in informal settlements, and what the effects are on in/equality and social exclusion. Andrea has worked with CatalyticAction on codesigned built projects with communities and children affected by displacement. Andrea’s work spans 15 countries and his most recent interest revolves around intersectional climate justice. He was a founder of the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre and now sits in its Board.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

Which is my city? Although I have lived elsewhere for 20 years, my city is Milan where I was born. I like that it is flat, perfect for cycling; people walk fast; and with good weather streets are filled with people having an aperitivo.

Bio

Tom’s research has focused on citizen media practices in Medellín, Colombia. His PhD project explored the shifting of social and media practices almost entirely into digital spaces during the Covid-19 pandemic, where significant challenges were encountered in reproducing engaging, creative and interactive activities, risking the furthering of exclusions and divides. This research project built on previous experience working with community media initiatives evoking collective memory and the defence of rights and territories in Medellín neighbourhoods facing structural disadvantages and stigmatisation in dominant mediated narratives. Tom has previously worked on a 3-year collaborative research project investigating the challenges facing civil society in England amid crises of democratic degradation and inequality.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

I live in London, a city I love to walk and cycle through. London has a beautiful river, the banks of which are mostly accessible and well used. I’d like London to be more equal and democratic, greener and less polluted.

Bio

Hady Naal is a Lebanon-based research and evaluation specialist with over eight years of experience working across the humanitarian-development nexus with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected settings. Hady has led and contributed to numerous studies with international organizations and academic institutions, producing over 30 peer-reviewed publications and technical reports. He currently works with CatalyticAction on the YUP project, supporting participatory research with young people and municipalities to co-produce digital platforms for more inclusive urban governance.

Bio

Ramona holds a masters in architecture from the Lebanese University and an MSc in gender studies at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, with interest in decolonizing knowledge, participatory approaches, genderism and ableism in architecture and urban planning. As part of CatalyticAction’s team, Ramona works on applying a gender-sensitive approach to participatory planning and co-design, as well as conducting field research, facilitating participatory workshops, and coordinating community engagement. As an activist, Ramona is engaged in various grassroots youth groups working on SRHR and urban issues in Lebanon. They are also part of international networks working on gender inequality such as Fora Network for Change and Women Deliver.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

I live in Beirut and love how calm and quiet it gets on weekends, you can walk around and smell jasmin. I also like the vibrant cultural and artistic scene, there’s always something happening around the city. I would love it if its neighbourhoods were better connected and walking friendly to pedestrians.

Bio

Sara holds a masters degree in architectural engineering from the Beirut Arab University. Her experience focuses on humanitarian architecture and looking for ways in which design can enhance social cohesion between displaced and host communities. Since 2020, she has been working with CatalyticAction on co-designing inclusive research and built interventions; she has been coordinating all field operations, from community engagement to managing local researchers in citizen science led research and ensuring successful project delivery. Sara has a 12 year experience as a teaching assistant in the faculty of Architectural Engineering, also engaging with university level youth in extracurricular activities that link them to their community.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

I was born and raised in the city of Tripoli, North Lebanon. I like the friendly people and streets with the lively historical parts that provide a rich walking experience. The city lacks a lot of basic infrastructure services that are missing because of lack of vision, planning and resources. Also, children do not have enough safe and playful opportunities in the city. I would like to see my city with safer, better managed public spaces that are more inclusive of children in particular.

Bio

Andrea Hawawini holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the American University of Beirut and still happily finds herself there today as a returned academic tutor and research assistant. For the past two years, she has been involved in a project exploring children’s development of imaginary concepts and the role of religious influence, contributing to all stages the research process. Beyond research, Andrea values building meaningful, knowledge-sharing relationships and creating environments where people learn from one another. Alongside her academic work, she has also worked as an elementary school teacher, an Arabic language educator for expats in Syria, and a translator and assistant for nun nurses at the hospital.

What do you like about your city and what would you like to change?

I love the mystical atmosphere of my beloved Damascus, Syria. Born and raised there, I grew up among its churches, mosques, and bustling souks, but only after moving away did I truly appreciate its unique charm. If I could change one thing, it would simply be for people to take greater care of the city—to stop throwing waste in the streets and to appreciate the beauty and history that surrounds them.