Last week, the Norman Foster Institute (NFI) team visited Cape Town, South Africa, to build on the collaboration with the City of Cape Town (CoCT) on the city’s pilot research project, as part of the NFI’s Master’s Programme on Sustainable Cities.

During their visit, Dr Gareth Simons, Head of City Science of the NFI; Irene Martin Luque, Head of Research of the NFI; and Daniel Liang Xu, Lead Researcher of the NFI, met with Erika Naude, CoCT Director of Urban Planning and Design; Bobby Gould-Pratt, CoCT Manager: Urban Planning and Design; Kayleen Simpson, CoCT Manager: Research; Susan Steyn, CoCT Manager: Ecological Conservation, Recreation and Parks; and Khumeleni Makungo, CoCT Geospatial Specialist.

Beyond engagements with the city officials, the team also met with Professor Edgar Pieterse, NFI Provost and Founding Director of the African Centre for Cities; Stephen Davis, representative from C40’s Mitigation Planning team; and Ismaeel Davids and Stefan le Roux, alumni from last year’s programme.

Cape Town is one of the three pilot cities selected for the 2025 programme, alongside Freetown and Melilla. The discussions in Cape Town addressed key urban priorities, including quality public places, equitable accessibilities and climate resilience. The team explored strategies for provision of public spaces, multi-scale analysis and the various programmes and initiatives under the city’s care.