NFI 2024 Academic Year

NFI Master on Sustainable Cities

Academic Year 2024

Shaping future civic leaders

The NFI Master’s Programme on Sustainable Cities combines a hands-on experience with academic insights from the Norman Foster Foundation’s global network of experts. In 2024, students immersed themselves in sustainable planning opportunities for the inaugural three pilot cities, Bilbao, Athens and San Marino, engaging directly with municipal leadership and local stakeholders. In the first cohort, the Norman Foster Institute and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid reaffirm their commitment to train future civic leaders capable of facing the urban challenges of the twenty-first century.

2024 Graduates

Mhd Ziwar Al Nouri

Syria

Sólrún Arnarsdóttir

Iceland

Dominic Blindert

United States

Juan Carlos Calanchini

Mexico

Ismaeel Davids

South Africa

Nikita Dhavale

India

Mihail Dyankov

Bulgaria

German Ferradas

Argentina

Marcus Ming Frike

Germany

Anastasiya Karapetava

Belarus

Stefan le Roux

South Africa

Irena Małgorzata Marczewska

Poland

Mariana Marmelada

Portugal

Fahmeeda Osman

South Africa

Aidan Gaëtan Pelletey

France / United States

Olivia Poston

United States

Matheus Isaac Rezende da Rocha

Brazil

Ana Luisa Rumbos

Spain / United States

Uurtsaikh Sangi

Mongolia

Iván Tamayo

Mexico

Paweł Wojdylak

Poland

Daniel Liang Xu

South Africa

Marco Zaki

Egypt

2024 Academic Body

A Global Network of Experts

The NFI Master’s Programme on Sustainable Cities 2024 Academic Body, led by Co-Directors Norman Foster, President of the Norman Foster Foundation and Advocate of the United Nations Forum of Mayors, and Kent Larson, Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab City Science Research Group, gathered more than 40 renowned experts in Urban Design, Architecture, City Administration and Government, and Innovation and Technology from the Norman Foster Foundation’s global network. 

Download the full Academic Body List

2024 Pilot Cities

Solutions for Urban Sustainability

The NFI Master’s Programme on Sustainable Cities 2024 Academic Year focused on three European cities: Bilbao (Spain), Athens (Greece), and San Marino (Republic of San Marino). Each Pilot City brought unique contexts and challenges, allowing students to explore diverse urban realities and address critical issues suhc as informal settlements, climante resilience, economic disparities and sustainable growth. Divide in working gropus, 2024 graduates developed specific strategies to face these challenges under the close supervision of the NFI Faculty team. 

Bilbao, Spain

Project developed: Bilbao Social Boosters

Bilbao, a medium-sized city, presents a distinctive context for analysis. The fieldwork allowed students to delve into the transformation of post-industrial city-scapes and explore the integration of sustainability principles with cultural revitalisation. Using evidence-informed methodologies, the project proposes a catalogue of social boosters: temporary, progressive micro-interventions designed to activate public spaces, encourage interaction, and strengthen community ties. 

Learn more about the project

Athens, Greece

Project developed: Linking Vision, Analytics + Action

Athens, a vibrant Mediterranean capital city, faces multiple challenges, of which a changing climate and its consequences is one of the most hazardous. Through rigorous geospatial analysis of the dense urban context, an integral component of the research developed metrics to measure comfort and identified critical sites for the interventions with the highest impact. Complemented by a city-specific toolbox of pragmatic, small-scale urban interventions, the strategies focus on transforming public spaces and streets to improve climate resiliency.  The research was ratified by the City of Athens through their inclusion of these insights in their 2030 Climate City Contract. 

Learn more about the project

San Marino, Republic of San Marino

Project developed: Revitalise and Connect

San Marino, a microstate that is one of the world’s oldest republics, offers a composition of historic Castellis supported by a thriving tourism industry. Students had the opportunity to conduct in-depth analyses with the ambition to diversify and support local economies. The project, by focusing on strategies for sustainable development in a close-knit community, proposes a data-driven framework to compare key metrics across the neighbouring Castelli centers. 

Learn more about the project

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