Rogier is the Global Director for WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. He joined WRI Ross Center as Director for Urban Development in 2020. As part of WRI’s program focused on more accessible, equitable, healthy and resilient cities, Rogier leads global programming on strategic urban planning, land use, urban resilience, equitable development, housing, data and finance. As a core member of the Executive Team, he helps to guide the overall strategy of the Cities program.
Rogier is an urban planning and urban development specialist, architect, former entrepreneur and academic who most recently led UN-Habitat’s Urban Lab, which he set up in 2014. It was created to respond to urban planning demand in cities and rapidly expanded its scope to become a multidisciplinary urban project and integrated planning facility working in 80 cities globally. Rogier led global teams working at the intersection of infrastructure, urban planning, urban resilience, climate change adaptation, technology, recovery and reconstruction, and public space. He has established and implemented development projects and programs together with cities and partners in Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia. Earlier, he was a founding partner of the architecture and planning firm Zandbelt&vandenBerg, where he led a broad portfolio of urban planning and strategy, and he also served as head of the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture’s Master of Urbanism program.
Rogier holds an Executive Master’s degree in International Negotiation and Policymaking from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and a Master of Science in Architecture from Delft University of Technology. He lives in Rotterdam with his wife, two sons and daughter.
Latest by Rogier van den Berg
5 Priorities for Urban Climate Action in 2023 and Beyond
Changing our approach to cities must be at the center of efforts to thwart climate change. As we move further into this decisive decade, here are five critical areas of action for cities.
5 Priorities for Cities After COP26
Now that the dust has settled from Glasgow, what does COP26 mean for cities? As we reflect on the outcomes, five priorities stand out for cities and national governments to focus on.
