Advisory
Solutions for Urban Sustainability
The Norman Foster Institute works closely with cities worldwide, delivering tailored solutions to address their urban challenges. Each city brings unique contexts and challenges, allowing NFI to explore diverse urban realities and address critical issues such as informal settlements, climate resilience, economic disparities and sustainable growth. As a result, specific strategies have been developed to face these challenges.
Tailored solutions based on local needs
NFI operates through a dedicated team of researchers who develop tailored solutions for cities. Combining advanced urban analytics, design thinking, and sustainable strategies, this approach ensures that this work is both locally responsive and globally informed, delivering measurable, impactful solutions that align with the specific needs and goals of city administrations.
NFI methods encompass four key facets: diagnosis, solution finding, implementation strategies, and dissemination.
Learn more about our Methodology
Our Projects
Linking Vision, Analytics + Action
Athens, Greece
Bilbao Social Boosters
Bilbao, Spain
Revitalise and Connect
San Marino, Republic of San Marino
Success Stories
Research Publications
The year-long research conducted by the NFI culminate in city-specific guidelines and proposals to be published early in the following year.
These publications will serve as valuable resources for city administrators, providing actionable frameworks for sustainable urban development.
Pilot Projects
Three African cities—Freetown, Cape Town and Melilla—have been chosen for their unique challenges and opportunities to be 2025 Pilot Cities.
The three collaborating cities in 2024—Athens, Bilbao, and San Marino—have expressed interest in advancing to implementation phases of the projects.
Awards
The Programme on Sustainable Cities has been recognised with the ‘Best Sustainable Actions 2024’ award by Sustainability Day 24, for its social and environmental impact.
The award ceremony took place at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, celebrating the NFI’s innovative approach to urban education and its transformative contributions to sustainable city-making.
Beyond the Programme
The success of the NFI programme has sparked interest from several cities and organisations, demonstrating the scalability of the NFI City Lab’s methodologies to other contexts.
A significant example of this is the Lab’s contribution to the Kharkiv Master Plan, a collaborative initiative with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Arup, and the Kharkiv City Council.
