Portfolio Daman Dogra
Delft · Geomatics & Urban Data

Urban Planner, Geomatics Engineer

M.Sc Geomatics · TU Delft · Urban & Regional Planner

I work at the intersection of geomatics, cultural heritage and urban planning — deploying open-source spatial infrastructures, reconstructing endangered temples in 3D, and building data pipelines that make complex territories legible for planners, researchers and local communities.

Arches, PostGIS, FAIR data Cultural routes & soundscapes Urban mobility & waterfronts
Download CV View GitHub
Currently based in Delft · previously @ IIT Roorkee, civic design lab, public sector advisory, and grassroots NGOs.

Experience

From open-source heritage inventories and neighbourhood plans to public sector advisory and teaching — always with an eye on spatial data, equity, and governance.

Trajectory

I move between academia, civic labs and practice: implementing geospatial systems, co-authoring research, and working directly with local governments and communities.

Project Associate · Civic Design Lab
Apr 2023 – Jul 2025 · IIT Roorkee
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee · Uttarakhand, India
Arches Geomatics Cultural routes FAIR data
  • Deployed and configured the Arches Heritage Inventory and Management System in a local environment, mapping Bhotiya cultural routes and their tangible/intangible assets.
  • Adapted resource models and mapped datasets to CIDOC-CRM for consistent semantic and geospatial structure.
  • Led UAV photogrammetry and ALS-based 3D reconstruction of endangered wooden temples in Uttarakhand.
  • Co-authored project proposals in geomatics and urban/regional planning, contributing to funding from DST, ICSSR, JSPS and Oxford Brookes University.
Teaching Assistant · NPTEL
Aug 2023 – Sep 2023 · Remote
National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL)
Vernacular architecture Online pedagogy
  • Supported the course International Studies in Vernacular Architecture with moderation, content preparation and live Q&A facilitation.
Junior Urban Planner
Oct 2022 – Mar 2023 · Indore
PLADECO Consultants
Neighbourhood planning Infrastructure networks
  • Prepared a comprehensive neighbourhood plan for Ward 82, including land use, public space and infrastructure optimisation.
  • Redesigned stormwater, water supply and drainage networks to improve resilience and operational efficiency.
  • Reimagined major streets and recreational spaces to improve walkability and community life.
Associate · Government & Public Sector Advisory
Jul 2022 – Sep 2022 · Hazaribagh
Nangia & Co LLP
Street vending plans Stakeholder engagement
  • Developed frameworks and methodologies for street vendor plans across five urban local bodies.
  • Led a team of surveyors, coordinated participatory workshops, and represented the firm in Urban Local Body meetings.
Urban Transport & Green Financing Intern
Jul 2021 – Aug 2021 · Bengaluru
Janaagraha – Centre for Citizenship and Democracy
SPBTF Green recovery
  • Compiled and analysed datasets for Sustainable Public Bus Transport Financing (SPBTF) and the Green Economic Recovery Programme, supporting policy recommendations.

Education

An urban & regional planning foundation, extended into advanced geomatics and spatial data infrastructures.

Formal

I combine quantitative spatial toolkits with planning theory, governance, and on-the-ground project work.

M.Sc Geomatics
2025 – Present · Delft
Delft University of Technology
Python · GeoPandas GDAL PostgreSQL & PostGIS
  • Coursework and labs in spatial data processing, database-backed geospatial workflows, and advanced GIS.
B.Plan · Urban & Regional Planning (Hons, CGPA 8)
2018 – 2022 · Bhopal
School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal
Urban planning Transport & land use Waterfronts
  • Thesis: Revitalisation of Urban Waterfronts through WaTOD: A case of Jhelum River in Srinagar.
  • Selected among the Top 10 undergraduate theses in India by NIUA, receiving a 600 € research grant.

Projects

Long-running, funded work in cultural-route digitisation, 3D heritage capture and climate-resilient planning.

Filter by focus
GIS Toolkit for Bhotiya Cultural Routes
2023 – 2025 · IIT Roorkee · DST-funded
Arches · FAIR
I deployed an open-access Arches Heritage Inventory and Management System to document Bhotiya cultural routes in Uttarakhand — integrating spatial, semantic and narrative data into a coherent knowledge graph. This involved designing resource models, aligning entities with CIDOC-CRM, and managing multi-source dataset ingestion, from field surveys to existing GIS layers. The toolkit enables planners, researchers and communities to explore routes, rituals and sites through an interactive, map-based interface.
Arches PostGIS Cultural routes
3D Reconstruction of Endangered Wooden Temples
2024 – 2025 · IIT Roorkee · Oxford Brookes-funded
Photogrammetry & ALS
As field lead, I designed and executed a workflow combining UAV photogrammetry, aerial laser scanning (ALS) and RTK-based control to generate high-fidelity 3D models of historic wooden temples. I coordinated acquisitions, managed data processing using RealityCapture, Autodesk Recap Pro and open-source tools, and supported the creation of interactive visualisations for conservation and education.
Point clouds RTK Heritage
CCA & DRR Integration Framework
2023 · ICSSR & JSPS-funded
Resilience
Contributed to the final phase of an Integrated Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) project by synthesising system dynamics modelling, spatial risk mapping and traditional knowledge. The output was a report that helps cities align climate adaptation, disaster governance and local practices in one framework.
System dynamics Urban resilience
Heritage Bye-laws · Ramnagar Fort & Samadhi
2023 – 2024 · NMA-funded
Regulation
Worked in a two-person team to draft heritage bye-laws for the ancient fort attributed to Raja Suchet Singh and the Queen’s Samadhi in Ramnagar. My role included detailed mapping, reviewing local planning regulations and preparing the final technical submission to the National Monuments Authority.
Heritage bye-laws Planning regimes
WaTOD · Revitalising the Jhelum Waterfront
2022 – 2023 · NIUA thesis grant
Waterfronts & transit
Bachelor’s thesis that proposes a Water transit-oriented development (WaTOD) model for the Jhelum River in Srinagar, integrating river transport into city structure. The work combined spatial analysis, scenario building and policy recommendations and was later developed into a peer-reviewed journal article.
Urban rivers Transit NIUA

Research & Publications

Work at the intersection of linked open data, cultural routes, waterfronts and acoustic urbanism, plus ongoing conference contributions.

Peer-reviewed

  • Linked Open Data for Cultural Routes
    Book chapter · 2024 · Advancing Heritage Innovations in India

    Co-authored chapter on customising Linked Open Data ontologies for digitally archiving cultural routes, focusing on semantic modelling of heritage assets and practices.

  • Revitalisation of Urban Waterfronts through WaTOD
    Journal article · 2024 · Urban India (NIUA)

    Extends bachelor’s thesis into a full paper on Water transit-oriented development along the Jhelum River, analysing land-use, accessibility and governance structures.

In progress & talks

  • Modelling Soundscapes on University Campuses
    Working paper · accepted for InterNoise

    With Prof. Manavvi Suneja and Syed Azhar Akhtar, evaluating how urban form affects perceived acoustic pleasantness using spatial-acoustic modelling.

  • International Conference on Contemporary Affairs in Architecture & Urbanism
    2024 · Alanya, Turkey

    Presented on customising Linked Open Data ontologies for cultural-route digitisation.

  • India Land & Development Conference
    2021 · Bhubaneswar, India

    Presented work on trending land-use conversions in Indian SEZs.

Skills

Comfortable across code, GIS, reality capture and planning — with an emphasis on reproducible spatial workflows and open tooling.

Programming & data
Python · C++

Python (GeoPandas, GDAL, rasterio, laspy, matplotlib), C++; data analysis in SQL and PostgreSQL; working knowledge of Docker and basic cloud deployment practices.

Databases & geospatial infra
PostgreSQL · PostGIS

Spatial schema design, spatial indexing, PostGIS workflows; Arches-based heritage inventories; version control with Git.

GIS & reality capture
QGIS · FME · GRASS

QGIS, GRASS GIS, FME; Autodesk Recap Pro, RealityCapture, Adobe Lightroom; UAV & ALS data processing, point-cloud handling, DEM generation.

Planning & communication
Urban projects

Neighbourhood plans, waterfront strategies, vendor plans, resilience frameworks; stakeholder workshops, community engagement, technical reporting and teaching (NPTEL, school-level AI).

Awards & Leadership

Recognition for thesis work, student leadership and ongoing commitment to teaching and volunteering.

Honours & workshops

  • NIUA Sponsored Thesis Competition
    2022 · Top 10 in India

    600 € grant from the National Institute of Urban Affairs, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Government of India, for WaTOD-based Jhelum waterfront thesis.

  • Photogrammetry in Cultural Heritage Documentation
    2024 · Factum Foundation

    One of ten students selected for a fully sponsored, four-week intensive workshop, covering capture to 3D modelling & CAD.

  • Selected certifications (Coursera, EdX, ADB, EPFL, Esri)
    Courses in digital twins, data analytics, smart cities, sustainable finance, green investments, energy policy and Python/GIS tooling.

Leadership & volunteering

  • Unit Coordinator · NOSPlan
    2020 – 2021

    Represented ~200 planning students at the National Council; led the SPA Bhopal delegation to first runner-up at the annual convention.

  • Teacher (Artificial Intelligence) · eVidyaloka Foundation
    2024 – 2025

    Weekly remote classes introducing AI concepts to high-school students in a government school in Madhya Pradesh, supporting SDG 4 on quality education.

  • Fundraising & community work
    Muskurahat Foundation · Prisha Club

    Campaigns for children in slums, orphanages and shelter homes; workshops and recreational activities in schools and nursing homes around Bhopal.

Contact

Open to collaborations in geomatics, heritage documentation, urban data and planning research.

Email
ddogra@tudelft.nl
Also reachable at damandograa@gmail.com for India-based work.
Location
Delft, Netherlands · previously Roorkee & Bhopal
Profiles
LinkedIn · GitHub · Google Scholar

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