Joseph J. Zacharia is an Architect and Urban Planner currently serving as Associate Urban Planner at the Centre for Urban Planning and Policy (CUPP), CRDF. He holds a Master's degree in Urban Planning from CEPT University, where he engaged with projects spanning city, town, and greenfield development scales — including the Development Plan for Rajkot, Town Planning Scheme for Navsari (Gujarat), and a Risk-Informed Master Plan for Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh (DRP). These experiences have shaped his capacity for informed, evidence-based decision-making, grounded in a deep understanding of urban challenges such as disaster risk management and blue-green infrastructure integration.
Prior to his current role, Joseph completed a two-month internship at CUPP, alongside his Directed Research Project (DRP) — an engagement that offered early exposure to the organization's work culture and planning practices. During his internship, he demonstrated strong visualization and presentation skills through projects such as Urban Design Guidelines for the Chennai Metropolitan Area and Gram Panchayat Spatial Development Plans for Nandasan and Tarapur in Gujarat.
His DRP further honed his analytical capabilities through advanced GIS-based spatial analysis, where he identified high-risk zones using multi-criteria decision-making techniques across multiple natural hazard scenarios in Itanagar. This work culminated in the development of a multi-hazard risk assessment framework, along with targeted recommendations for statutory planning instruments in Arunachal Pradesh to strengthen urban resilience.