AG.URBAN

What AG.URBAN does

AG.URBAN, legally Hipp, Tienes, Pinetzki GbR, is a Berlin-based interdisciplinary urban development consultancy founded in 2015 by Johannes Hipp, Florian Tienes, and Michael Pinetzki. The firm is privately held as a German civil-law partnership (GbR) with no external investors or parent company, and operates with a 15-person team spanning urban planning, architecture, design, geography, computer science, ecology, and social/cultural sciences. Its core offering is the design and facilitation of citizen participation processes, urban development strategies, climate protection concepts, and neighborhood development mandates for German public-sector clients. The practice combines analog participation toolkits (Klötzchenspiel, Beteiligungstisch, on-site urban interventions) with proprietary digital platforms (yourkiez.de, GANG-O-MAT, ClubKataster 2.0) and immersive VR participation formats (Elbedome) co-developed with Fraunhofer IFF for urban planning decision-making.

Name

AG.URBAN

Legal name

Hipp, Tienes, Pinetzki GbR

Website

https://ag-urban.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AG.URBAN is a Berlin-based interdisciplinary consultancy that designs and facilitates citizen participation processes, urban development concepts, and climate adaptation strategies for German municipalities, housing companies, and Quartiersmanagement bodies through analog toolkits, proprietary digital platforms, and VR-enabled planning formats.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Planning Consulting Services

NAICS

Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (925)

akta.pro primary industry

Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities) (BPAIANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urban & Regional Planning (Land Use, Zoning, Master Planning) (BPAIANAD), Sustainable Cities, Urban Development & Green Infrastructure (BPADALAL)

Keywords

• Participatory urban planning
• Citizen participation consulting
• Urban development strategy
• Digital participation platforms
• Climate adaptation planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Sector Consulting & Participation Mandates: AG.URBAN is commissioned by German municipalities (Berlin districts, state governments), public housing companies, and Quartiersmanagement bodies to design and facilitate citizen participation processes, develop urban development strategies, and create climate adaptation concepts. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting fees awarded via public tenders and direct commissions. Projects range from multi-year urban development concepts (INSEK) to short-term participation events.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AG.URBAN is an interdisciplinary urban development consultancy that designs and facilitates citizen participation processes, develops urban development concepts (e.g., integrated urban development concepts / INSEK), and creates climate adaptation and nutrition strategies for German municipalities, public housing companies, and Quartiersmanagement bodies. The firm also operates proprietary digital participation platforms (yourkiez.de, ClubKataster 2.0, GANG-O-MAT) and immersive VR-based planning formats (Elbedome).

Product overview

AG.URBAN is an interdisciplinary urban development consultancy offering a portfolio of services rather than a unified software product. Their offerings include digital participation platforms (yourkiez.de, ClubKataster 2.0, GANG-O-MAT), urban design and strategy consulting, citizen participation facilitation, and climate adaptation planning. The company operates across Berlin neighborhoods delivering participatory urban development projects, with services structured around three main pillars: Urban Design (urban planning concepts, strategy, corporate design, climate adaptation), Participation (citizen engagement, workshops, design thinking), and Participation Procedures (formal/informal processes, government involvement).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Urban Design Services Consulting service covering urban planning concepts, strategic consulting, corporate design, and climate adaptation planning, delivered to municipalities and housing companies.
• Participation Services Citizen engagement and participation services including workshops, design-thinking methods in urban planning, and the construction of ephemeral urban structures for municipalities, housing companies and Quartiersmanagement bodies.
• Participation Procedures Formal and informal participation procedures for projects within the German Social Cohesion (Sozialer Zusammenhalt) program and government participation processes.
• yourkiez.de Digital Participation Platform Proprietary digital participation platform used to collect citizen wishes, ideas and critiques about neighborhoods; deployed in projects such as the Richardkiez activation and other Quartiersmanagement areas.
• ClubKataster 2.0 Digital platform developed in cooperation with Clubcommission Berlin to map and document clubs and cultural venues, enabling early integration into Berlin urban-planning processes.
• GANG-O-MAT Digital platform offered in analog and digital form to promote and network local projects and volunteer engagement in neighborhoods, used within AG.URBAN's Quartiersmanagement and neighborhood participation work.

Quantifiable outcome

• Kool im Kiez project featured in best practice database of the Bundesministerium für Wohnen, Stadtentwicklung und Bauwesen Städtebauförderung program.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fraunhofer IFF (Magdeburg)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2023AG.URBAN collaborates with the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) on innovative participation formats using Virtual Reality (VR) technology. The joint project 'Partizipative Virtuelle Realität (Parti-VR)' enables citizens in Magdeburg to experience and evaluate urban planning designs in an immersive 360-degree environment (Elbedome). The cooperation has produced the Elbedome VR system combining real and virtual worlds for urban planning participation.
• VimondaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAG.URBAN worked with strategy consultancy Vimonda on multiple Berlin Nutrition Strategy (Berliner Ernährungsstrategie) projects, including conducting citizen workshops and organizing the Sommerkonferenz 2022 at Urania on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department for Environment, Mobility, Consumer and Climate Protection.
• Clubcommission BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2019, AG.URBAN collaborated with Clubcommission Berlin to develop the ClubKataster 2.0 study, enabling early integration of clubs and cultural venues into Berlin's urban planning and construction activities.
• hutterreimann LandschaftsarchitektenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAG.URBAN collaborated with landscape architecture firm hutterreimann to develop a design entry for the workshop procedure (Werkstattverfahren) for the Masterplan Potsdam-Schlaatz 2030. The joint design was selected as one of three first-place entries.
• Urania (Veranstaltungsreihe StadtNatur)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAG.URBAN co-organized the Sommerkonferenz der Berliner Ernährungsstrategie with Urania's StadtNatur series and Vimonda, held at Urania Berlin, on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department.
• Berliner Projektfonds Urbane PraxisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAG.URBAN designed the visual event graphics for the Berlin Urban Practice (Urbane Praxis) network meeting, applying a construction-site aesthetic aligned with the DIY ethos of the program.
• Stiftung StadtKultur / guerrilla architectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAG.URBAN moderated Stadtwerkstätten workshops with guerrilla architects on behalf of Stiftung StadtKultur at locations in Berlin-Lichtenberg (Heinrich-Dathe-Platz, Johannes-Fest-Platz) to engage citizens in discussions about neighborhood development around HOWOGE properties.
• KAOS Berlin (Ateliergemeinschaften Treptow-Köpenick)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAG.URBAN conducted a workshop at KAOS Berlin for the Ateliergemeinschaften Treptow-Köpenick network to identify competencies, resources, and actions needed within the district administration to support artist studio communities facing displacement.
• regenmodule / schoene vibes kollektiv / plances.deminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partners for the 'Schatteninsel' (Shade Island) pilot project at Platz am Kaisersteg in Treptow-Köpenick. AG.URBAN coordinated the urban furniture ensemble project including rain benches, raised beds, and shade modules developed with the community.
• Sozialhelden e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 'Neukölln macht auf / Barrierefreier Richardkiez' project, distributing 66 mobile ramps to improve accessibility for people with mobility impairments in Neukölln's Richardkiez and Körnerkiez neighborhoods.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Zebralog: German digital civic participation and e-participation platform provider running online consultations for public-sector clients, directly comparable to AG.URBAN's yourkiez.de and digital participation work.
• urbanista: Hamburg-based urban development and citizen participation consultancy serving German cities on inner-city development and participatory processes, comparable in scale and service mix to AG.URBAN.
• Planungsgruppe Prof. Laage: Hamburg/ Berlin urban planning office specializing in integrated urban development and participation for German municipalities, comparable to AG.URBAN's INSEK and B-Plan participation work.
• BSV Büro für Stadtentwicklung: Hamburg-based urban planning consultancy delivering integrated urban development, participation, and climate adaptation concepts for German municipalities, directly comparable in scope to AG.URBAN.
• Umbau Stadt: Berlin-based urban planning and development consultancy working with municipalities on integrated urban development concepts and participation processes, directly overlapping AG.URBAN's core INSEK and citizen-participation mandate.
• Stadtmanufaktur: Munich/ Berlin urban planning and participation consultancy delivering strategy and citizen engagement for German municipalities on topics like inner-city development and climate adaptation — a direct comparability match for AG.URBAN.

Broad incumbents

• AS&P Albert Speer + Partner: Frankfurt-based large-scale urban planning and architecture firm working with major German and international municipalities on master plans, mobility, and urban development — a much larger incumbent serving overlapping client needs.
• DSK Deutsche Stadt- und Grundstücksentwicklungsgesellschaft: Wiesbaden-based urban development company managing redevelopment and städtebauliche Verträge for German municipalities, operating in the same urban-development consulting space as AG.URBAN but at significantly larger scale.

Emerging players

• polidia: Cologne-based digital e-participation platform enabling online citizen consultation for German municipalities — overlaps with AG.URBAN's digital participation track but competes primarily as software rather than integrated consulting.

Others

• Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik (Difu): Berlin-based research institute for urban affairs serving German municipalities with research, training, and consulting on urban planning and participation — an adjacent ecosystem player rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/agurban.berlin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ag-urban
• Instagraminstagram.com/ag.urban

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AG.URBAN