Titled "On Cities," a new series of twenty masterclasses was released by the Norman Foster Foundation this week. Each half-hour video features a leading expert in the fields of architecture, urbanism, economics, and mobility, aiming to promote cross-disciplinary and trans-geographic exchange.

"While cities undoubtedly offer significant advantages in the realm of education, health care and social services, urbanization is widely regarded as one of the fundamental challenges for public health, social equity and environmental sustainability," states the Foundation's announcement.

'On Cities' Masterclass Series, extended trailer. Video via Norman Foster Foundation on YouTube.

"In many parts of the world, urbanization has made cities more spatially fragmented, less environmentally responsive and more socially divided. To meet these challenges, speakers will touch on key themes such as urban leadership, urban form and equity, urban informality, urban food systems, urban sustainability, urban materiality, urban mobility, working and well-being, urban economics and city behavior, among other topics."

While the introductory masterclass will be given by Norman Foster himself, the roster of contributing speakers includes:

• Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr (Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone)
• Joseph G Allen (Director of the Healthy Buildings Program, T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University)
• Deborah Berke (Dean, Yale’s School of Architecture and Founder of Deborah Berke Partners)
• Luis Bettencourt (Inaugural Director, Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, University of Chicago)
• Richard Burdett (Director, LSE Cities)
• Vishaan Chakrabarti (William W. Wurster Dean, College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley and Founder of PAU)
• Robin Chase (Cofounder, ZipCar)
• Fonna Forman (Founding Director, Center on Global Justice, University of California, San Diego)
• Sou Fujimoto (Founder, Sou Fujimoto Architects)
• Edward Glaeser (Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University)
• Dirk Hebel (Professor, Sustainable Construction, Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie)
• Francis Kéré (Founder, Kéré Architecture and Kéré Foundation)
• Anupama Kundoo (Principal, Anupama Kundoo Architects)
• Kent Larson (Director, MIT City Science Research Group)
• Giuseppe Sala (Mayor of Milan, Italy)
• Carolyn Steel (Director, Kilburn Nightingale Architects)
• Tim Stonor (Managing Director, Space Syntax)
• Belinda Tato (Cofounder and Codirector, Ecosistema Urbano)
• Theresa Williamson (Founder and Director, Catalytic Communities).

The Foundation also announced the upcoming release of the subsequent "On Archives" masterclass series and the "Future Cities" series of virtual conversations between Norman Foster and ten prominent voices.

"On Cities" is available on YouTube here.