Welcome to the City Futures Academy!
The City Futures Academy is coordinated by the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University in Sweden. We are an online learning community on cities, sustainability, governance and innovation. Over 100,000 participants!
√ Learn how to drive change in cities towards sustainable, climate friendly, just, healthy and prosperous futures.
√ Boost your career with new knowledge, understanding and skills for navigating urban transformations.
√ Complete a series of cutting-edge courses with world-leading teachers and join an online learning community.
Courses
We offer a series of vibrant Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) available through the Coursera platform for free to everyone and everywhere. The Greening the Economy: Sustainable Cities MOOC is ranked in the Best Online Courses of All Time by Class Central. The ranking by Class Central contains 250 courses from 100 universities based on 170,000 reviews. The MOOC is also ranked in the top ten Environmental Science and Sustainability courses in the Coursera platform.
Greening the Economy: Sustainable Cities
How can we shape our urban development towards sustainable and prosperous futures?
This course explores sustainable cities as engines for greening the economy. We place cities in the context of sustainable urban transformation and climate change. We connect the key trends of urbanization, decarbonisation and sustainability. We examine visions, experiments and innovations in urban areas. And we look at practices (what is happening in cities at present) and opportunities (what are the possibilities for cities going forwards into the future).
This course is inspired by the Governance of Urban Sustainability Transitions (GUST) project funded by JPI Urban Europe. It is supported with films and materials from WWF Cities and ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability.
“This course is amazing. It contains so much information and practical examples. The instructors are really good. I love listening to their lectures.” - participant review
Urban Nature: Connecting Cities, Sustainability and Innovation
How can we work with nature to design and build our cities?
This course explores nature-based solutions in cities in Europe and around the world. We connect together the key themes of cities, nature, sustainability and innovation. We discuss how to assess what nature-based solutions can achieve in cities. We examine how innovation is taking place in cities. And we analyse the potential of nature-based solutions to help respond to climate change and sustainability challenges.
This course is inspired by the Naturvation project funded by the European Commission. It is supported with films and materials from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency and UNDP.
“Excellent course! I have learned a lot about the importance of nature and how nature can be used as a solution for solving urban problems. Great experience!” - participant review
Cities and Consumption: Urban Sustainability and the Sharing Economy
How can we govern the sharing economy in our cities?
This course explores the sharing economy in cities in Sweden, Europe and around the world. We connect together the key themes of the sharing economy, cities, governance and urban sustainability. We explore how sharing economy can contribute to social, environmental and economic sustainability, and sharing cities can unlock new opportunities and solve urban challenges by facilitating and applying the sharing economy in urban contexts.
This course is inspired by the Sharing Cities Sweden project funded by the Swedish Innovation Agency and Viable Cities - a strategic innovation program for smart and sustainable cities. It is supported with films and materials from the Sharing Cities Alliance.
“The course is dynamic and very useful. Expanded my knowledge about sharing economy with interesting videos, podcasts and readings. I'm fascinated for what I've learned here!” - participant review
Specialisation
We offer a specialisation on Sustainable Cities and Communities. In this specialisation you will learn how to drive change towards sustainable, climate friendly, just, healthy and prosperous futures, and you will boost your career with new knowledge, understanding and skills for navigating urban transformations. This specialisation brings together a series of cutting-edge courses with world-leading teachers on cities, communities, sustainability, governance and innovation.
√ Increased knowledge on sustainable cities and communities.
√ Improved critical thinking on the opportunities and challenges for sustainable cities and communities as engines for greening the economy.
√ Deeper understanding of the relationship between urbanization, decarbonisation and sustainability.
√ Expanded ability to use systems thinking to assess sustainable cities and communities.
Approach
A key approach embedded in our courses and activities at the City Futures Academy is the role of experimentation in urban transformations. In particular, urban living labs are highlighted as a means for catalysing change in cities towards sustainable, climate friendly, just, healthy and prosperous futures. The experimentation within urban living labs offers the potential for accelerating transformations and systematic learning across urban and national contexts.
Urban living labs are defined as sites (streets, buildings, districts) in cities which are utilised to design, test and learn from social and technical innovation in real time and in real places.
√ Check out the Urban Living Labs book on experimenting with city futures
√ Download the Urban Living Labs handbook on characteristics, practices and examples
Faculty
The City Futures Academy is coordinated by the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University in Sweden. We bring together teachers and organisations from around the world to share knowledge and understanding on urban transformations.
Associate Professor Kes McCormick, Lund University
Professor Harriet Bulkeley, Durham University and Utrecht University
Professor James Evans, Manchester University
Associate Professor Yuliya Voytenko Palgan, Lund University
Professor Lena Neij, Lund University
Professor Niki Frantzeskaki, Utrecht University
Dr Bernadett Kiss, Lund University
Professor Christine Wamsler, Lund University
Dr Helen Toxopeus, Utrecht University
Dr Cathy Oke, Melbourne University
Dr Carina Borgström Hansson, WWF
Dr Jennifer Lenhart, WWF
Podcasts
And remember to check out the regular podcasts on advancing sustainable solutions to follow the ongoing research and activities at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University in Sweden. The podcasts are a forum for engaging conversation that is relatable and applicable.
