Objectives of UHN-Rujak Center in Establishing Coastal Urban Studies Centre

Universitas Harkat Negeri Tegal, in collaboration with Rujak Center for Urban Studies, has officially launched the Coastal Urban Studies Centre at Campus 1 of UHN in Tegal, Central Java, on Thursday, 23 April 2026. This institution emerges as a response to the complexity of issues in coastal urban areas and regions, which are now at the forefront of climate change impacts.

The launch of PKPP was led by UHN Rector Sudirman Said, Director of Rujak Center for Urban Studies Elisa Sutanudjaja, and PKPP Director Marco Kusumawijaya. The inauguration was also attended by Tegal City Secretary Agus Dwi Sulistyantono.

UHN Rector Sudirman Said explained that PKPP serves as a study centre on his campus following the Sustainability Studies Centre launched in January. “Tegal as a secondary city in Indonesia and also a coastal city is positioned as a research hub that can serve as a learning model for cities in Indonesia, but also for coastal cities worldwide,” said the former Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Sudirman revealed his ambition to make UHN a campus that has concrete impacts on community life. He wants students not to be limited to literacy in study rooms, but to engage more broadly so that real actions can be achieved promptly to address existing challenges.

Therefore, PKPP was established as a forum for knowledge development, learning, and cross-stakeholder collaboration. The centre focuses on studying and strengthening the capacity of coastal cities in Indonesia, particularly secondary cities experiencing rapid growth and facing high vulnerability to increasingly complex climate risks.

PKPP Director Marco Kusumawijaya explained that the institution he leads aims to build public knowledge about life around them. Not just the physical environmental conditions, but also the injustices in coastal urban areas.

Behind the continuously growing coastal cities, Marco continued, the welfare of residents is not necessarily guaranteed. “The coast is the most evident example that economic spaces are developing, but vulnerability is also concentrated in those spaces,” said Marco.

Marco believes the presence of PKPP can bring more equitable solutions and accommodate residents’ perspectives. He is committed to continuously paying attention to local settler communities.

According to Marco, PKPP is present to integrate applied research, policy practices, and the living experiences of coastal communities within an integrated framework. Through this approach, the study centre seeks to strengthen the capacity of local governments and civil society in responding to the climate crisis effectively, inclusively, and with social justice, while upholding principles of ecological sustainability.

PKPP notes that there are currently more than 8,000 villages directly bordering the sea with a population of over 16 million people, where at least 219 regencies and cities border the sea.

The institution also records that at least 132 million Indonesian citizens, or 60 percent of Indonesia’s total population, live within 50 kilometres of the coastline. They are the group of people most vulnerable to climate change.

In the last 20 years, sea levels have risen, resulting in impacts that are still felt today, ranging from tidal flooding, rising sea levels, disrupted ecosystems, to disrupted production patterns of coastal communities.