The Norman Foster Institute for Sustainable Cities programme, which the Norman Foster Foundation is launching in January, aims to equip graduates and professionals with the tools and skills to improve the quality of life in cities. As the programme’s exclusive health partner, Bupa will bring a clinical voice to the curriculum, helping to educate scholars on the health impacts of climate change on urban populations and highlighting interventions that can mitigate health issues.

In addition to a week-long workshop focusing specifically on health, scholars will have opportunities to simulate different health interventions focusing on, for example, nature, healthy buildings, walkability, and sanitation, in the Norman Foster Institute lab, to better understand the impact in city environments.

The aim is to enable a new generation of architects and planners to design cities that can help keep people healthy. Bupa will use its clinical expertise to support students to research the health issues affecting living standards in three European cities – Athens, Bilbao, and San Marino – and engage with urban planners on the challenges and opportunities for change. At the end of the first year of the programme, students will present their findings and solutions to city mayors and local stakeholders to help spur action.

The focus of the programme will expand to other continents in 2025 and 2026. Iñaki Ereño, group chief executive at Bupa, said: “To help keep people healthy in cities, we need to look at how urban environments can encourage healthier lifestyles, promote wellbeing and prevent avoidable illnesses.

“Our clinical and patient perspective is only one part of the story. That’s why we’re excited to be partnering with experts in architecture and urban design at the Norman Foster Foundation to accelerate progress towards climate-resilient cities that enable people to live longer, healthier and happier lives.”

The partnership will also involve Bupa and the Norman Foster Foundation working with the Lancet Countdown and C40 on research looking at the health hazards facing urban populations as a result of climate change, and effective multisectoral solutions. The key principles of the paper, which will launch at COP28, will be applied to the Norman Foster Institute for Sustainable Cities programme, and findings will be incorporated into Bupa’s Healthy Cities initiative in 2024 – a global physical activity challenge which unlocks investment in regenerating the natural environment.

Norman Foster, president of the Norman Foster Foundation, and founder and executive chair of Foster and Partners, said: “In the context of a worsening climate crisis, we believe our design projects must also encompass the health and wellbeing of our communities. This has been a central theme of our work for more than six decades, and our partnership with Bupa further strengthens our ongoing efforts to find innovative solutions that improve the health of people and the planet.

“By bringing Bupa’s clinical expertise into the education of architects, engineers, and planners who are reimagining the future of cities, and joining forces to mobilise broader stakeholders, we hope to shift the dial on the crisis facing cities and help their residents enjoy better health.”

The partnership builds on work already underway by the Norman Foster Foundation and Sanitas, Bupa’s business in Spain, which have joined up to promote scientific research that can help create healthy cities and buildings.