SERDAR ASLAN

Serdar Aslan Urbanologist / Smart Cities & Sustainability Specialist / Founder of CityLab

Serdar Aslan is a multidisciplinary urban strategist and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience spanning telecommunications, energy, foreign trade, tourism and urban innovation. He is the founder of CityLab, a knowledge and innovation hub focused on smart cities, sustainable development, and digital transformation for municipalities and urban actors.

After establishing his first company in Istanbul in 1994 during the mobile telecom boom, Aslan quickly evolved into a serial entrepreneur and policy influencer. He holds a degree in Economics from Karadeniz Technical University, a Master's in Public Relations from Istanbul Commerce University, and advanced certifications in Foreign Trade, Sustainable Cities (Johns Hopkins University), and Environmental & Social Sustainability Management (Frankfurt School, in partnership with the European Investment Bank).

Between 2004 and 2009, he operated a commercial venture in the Netherlands, where he gained deep insight into participatory local governance and urban policy frameworks. These experiences shaped his later mission: to localise global development agendas such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through community-driven, data-informed, and inclusive strategies.

In 2017, Aslan founded the Beşiktaş Urban Association, a civic platform that led high-impact campaigns, including a landmark case that helped implement a 50% legal cap on unjust property tax hikes. His efforts positioned him as a trusted voice in urban resilience, rights-based planning, and municipal accountability.

In 2019, he introduced the “Co-Governance Model for Beşiktaş” and ran as an Independent Mayoral Candidate, reinforcing the idea that cities must be shaped by their citizens. His leadership blends civic innovation with evidence-based policymaking, prioritizing mobility, green infrastructure, and social equity.

In 2022, he launched CityLab – Smart Cities Knowledge and Innovation Center, which delivers consultancy, training, and strategic guidance to municipalities, NGOs, and international partners. In 2023, he published his first book, "Smart Cities, Smart Governance, Smart Lives: 2023–2030–2050", redefining smart urbanism as a holistic discipline beyond engineering – one that integrates governance, culture, digital equity, and sustainability.

He has been trained by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change in Turkey and is an active member of the national Smart City Ecosystem. He is also an alumnus of the UCLG-EU-UNDP program on localising the SDGs through decentralised cooperation, where his project “Walkable Beşiktaş” received notable recognition.

Fluent in English and Dutch, Aslan continues to advise cities, NGOs, development banks, and civic tech startups on the future of urban life. He resides in Istanbul, is married with two children, and remains a strong advocate for glocal (global-local) governance models.