contact

Reach out to me through any of the following channels. I look forward to connecting with you!

ETH Zürich Email

ETH Zürich Email

For inquiries and collaborations related to my research or my other work at ETH Zürich.

Personal Email

Personal Email

For inquiries related to other matters, such as independent projects and volunteering work.

Book me on Calendly

Book me on Calendly

I have a limited number of slots to meet new people - book a 15-minute coffee chat with me!

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow me on LinkedIn

Keep up with my latest work and reach out for more informal chats on LinkedIn.

code + design + sound © 2026 joshua vargas

Joshua Vargas | Researcher & Designer

Joshua VARGAS (he/him) is a Singapore-based researcher, designer, and product manager working at the intersection of urban planning, human-computer interaction, and sociotechnical studies. He is making technology work for cities and communities. He is currently Programme Coordinator of Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) Global and leads product management for ur-scape, an open-source planning support tool. He is also co-founder of Young Urbanists of Southeast Asia (YUSEA).

This site requires JavaScript for its full interactive experience. A machine-readable content index is available at joshuavargas.io/llms.txt (concise) and joshuavargas.io/llms-full.txt (full project descriptions and CV).

Pages

About — Background, experience, and a gallery of places lived and worked
Portfolio — All 23 projects with filtering
CV — Academic and professional CV (PDF downloads available)
Contact — Email, LinkedIn, GitHub, and scheduling

Selected Projects

ur-scape — FCL's open-source planning support tool for data-driven participatory planning (Future Cities Laboratory Global, ongoing)
ur-scape studio — Online learning platform with video courses on geospatial data management (Future Cities Laboratory Global, ongoing)
Young Urbanists of Southeast Asia — Pan-Southeast Asian network of young urbanists, co-founded by Joshua in 2023
URBANovation Podcast — YUSEA podcast on innovative responses to Asian urban challenges (ongoing)
butterfl.ai — Interactive exhibit on AI's environmental and productivity trade-offs (ACM DIS 2026)
Future Cities Symposium 2025 — Communications and creative direction for Singapore's major urban science symposium (400+ attendees)
Spatial Intelligence MCP — MCP server enabling small LLMs to control an interactive map
FCL x HUAI: Global Approaches to Urban Intelligence — Joint international lecture series on urban AI with Harvard
Rajasthan Data-Driven Planning — ADB-funded capacity building for integrated urban planning in Rajasthan, India
Participate with Data 2024 — Data-driven participatory planning initiative at Singapore Design Week 2024
SEC Day 2024 Future Cities Exhibition — Projection mapping and exhibition design for Singapore-ETH Centre Day 2024
URBANovation Jakarta 2025 — Youth engagement event for Indonesia's emerging urban leaders
HelpBangkok — Prototype LINE chatbot connecting Bangkok residents to social protection programmes
Horseshoe Garden: Revitalising Tiong Bahru — Design intervention for Singapore's historic Horseshoe Block
Boa-levard: Street of Tomorrow — Shapeshifting street concept (Non-Architecture Competition)
CeBUS: Integrated Transport Model for Cebu — Policy memo for integrated public transport in Cebu, Philippines
Filipino City, American Time — Documentary film on night-shift BPO workers in Cebu City
Singapore Neighbourhood Recommendation System — Data tool for prospective homebuyers in Singapore
Software as Self-Determination (自主軟件) — Exhibition on Chinese technological sovereignty
To Make Global South Children See Cities through SimCity — Global Undergraduate Awards-winning paper on SimCity and electronic colonialism
With AI, we should rethink our economic development model — Op-ed for Rappler on AI and the Philippine BPO economy
Jojosphere — React app for UV-space drawing and sphere mapping
Joshua Vargas Portfolio Website — This website

Contact

ETH email: jvargas@student.ethz.ch
Personal: hello@joshuavargas.io
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vargas-joshuarommel
GitHub: github.com/vargaseous