Designing Sustainable Cities
Cities grow with or without vision.
Bring the vision.
The neighborhoods of tomorrow are being decided right now. Learn to plan districts and cities that stay green, livable, and loved for generations after the ribbon is cut.
Whole neighborhoods will benefit from how you plan.
- Think at city scale — zoom out from buildings to the systems that shape urban life
- Weave in green systems — integrate nature, water, and mobility into thriving healthy districts
- Put people at the center — create streets and spaces communities genuinely want to live in
- Balance growth and limits — reconcile development pressure with the hard boundaries of the planet
- Learn from world leaders — study the cities getting it right and borrow their moves
- Shape policy conversations — speak credibly with planners and officials about urban futures
Built by one of the most-read architecture platforms in the world.
RTF | Rethinking The Future has spent over a decade publishing the ideas, projects and voices shaping architecture — and now brings that depth to learning. Every course is researched, written and produced by the RTF team.
Cities remember their designers. Be worth remembering.
A clear path. Eight steps.
Everything unlocks instantly with membership · learn at your own pace
If you see yourself here, start today.
A few hours from now, you could already see differently.
My urban proposals talked about sustainability without ever demonstrating it. Working at district scale with real metrics changed how I structure a masterplan. My latest studio project has measurable targets instead of vague green diagrams.
Simple by design.
Watch
Short, focused video lessons — each one a single idea, clearly explained.
Apply
End every lesson with a small task that pushes your real project forward.
Transform
Watch your work develop a point of view that is unmistakably yours.
Answered simply.
I work at building scale — is city-scale sustainability useful to me?
Yes. Buildings live inside urban systems, and architects who understand those systems make better site, massing, and infrastructure decisions.
Is this theoretical or grounded in real urban projects?
Grounded. The principles are drawn from built districts and plans that perform, not from utopian diagrams.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Every course starts from where you are and builds up step by step, in plain language.
Is this software training?
No — software changes yearly. The thinking you learn here lasts a career.
How does it work?
Short video lessons with a small practice task after each. Any device, your pace.
What does membership include?
One membership unlocks every course on RTF Academy — all 450+, nothing sold separately. And you stay in control: cancel anytime in one click, and you will never be charged again.
Ready to see your work change?
Your next project could be the one that feels truly yours.
- 8 Sections
- 25 Lessons
- 4 Hours
- Foundations of Sustainable Urbanism3
- Climate & Urban Ecology3
- Sustainable Mobility3
- Energy & Resource Management3
- Urban Form & Public Spaces3
- Smart & Resilient Cities3
- Social & Economic Sustainability3
- Future Cities & Applications4
Reviews
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My urban proposals talked about sustainability without ever demonstrating it. Working at district scale with real metrics changed how I structure a masterplan. My latest studio project has measurable targets instead of vague green diagrams.
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