The phenomenon of urban development in the last three decades is slightly different from the previous periods, both within the global and national scope. What distinguishes them is the rapidly growing pace of urbanization. Globally, as predicted by the United Nations (UN), by 2025, the urban population will cover approximately 60% of the world’s population. Contrary to the previous trend, 21st-century urban development will predictably occur more in developing countries than in the developed ones. In the next two decades, it is estimated that the urban population in developing countries will reach 50-60% of the total population. As for Indonesia, according to the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), the urban population is increasing at a rate of 4% per year, so that by 2020 the urban population will reach 60% of Indonesia’s total population.

The development of the urban population causes the increasing need for housing, infrastructure, and urban facilities. They will become a problem because, in the current conditions, the level of provision of urban infrastructure and facilities is still not comparable to the existing demand. The scarcity that is resulted from this imbalance may lead to the emergence of more problems in social and economic aspects, such as the emergence of slum areas and the increasing case of urban poverty. While the solution to these problems is still unconcluded, there is another tendency in the development management on a regional scale. The limited capacity of the government to promote the implementation of development equitably has led to significant disparities among regions. At the moment, more than 60% of Indonesia’s population lives on the island of Java, which is only 7% of the total land area in Indonesia. It creates a big challenge as the government has to carry out a more equitable development and one that does not exceed its carrying capacity of the environment. On the other hand, there are demands for a better and more inclusive implementation of the regional and city governance that involves all stakeholders.

Changes in problems and structures in regional and urban development have demanded better and adaptive planning. It requires expertise in the area of immaculate planning. In Indonesia, the lack of quality planners is still a considerable obstacle since the quantity of those good planners is still below the actual demand. Realizing the increasing demand for urban and regional development planners due to economic growth and the national development process encouraged the lecturers and academic staff at the Architecture Study Program, Faculty of Engineering-UNDIP to initiate the Urban and Regional Planning Study Program (Planology). Through a long series of processes, finally, on March 18, 1992, the Decree of the Director-General of Higher Education Number 43/DIKTI/KEP/1992 was issued and became the foundation for the establishment and operation of the Urban and Regional Planning (S1) Study Program (PS S1 PWK) under the Faculty of Engineering-UNDIP. As many as 33 students were among the first batch of students accepted in September 1992. Having produced the first batch of graduates, this Study Program later developed into the Department of Urban and Regional Planning Engineering in 1999, with the Decree of the Director-General of Higher Education Number 79/DIKTI/KEP/1999.

At the time of its establishment in 1992, UNDIP’s Urban and Regional Planning Department was the second Urban and Regional Planning Study Program among Indonesian State Universities after ITB. Currently, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning UNDIP has obtained Accreditation A based on the decision issued by the National Accreditation Board for Higher Education No: 197/SK/BAN_PT/Ak-XVI/S/IX/2013.