📢 Applications for the 2025 cohorts are open
Register nowThe Van Leer Foundation’s Urban95 initiative works with city leaders, planners, architects, and engineers to support the healthy development of young children growing up in cities. It is driven by a simple question – if you could experience the city from 95cm – the height of a healthy 3-year-old – what would you change? Its goal is to support healthier, safer, fairer, and more vibrant cities for young children and for those who care for them. Click here to learn more.
The Urban95 Academy is open to Mayors and municipal leaders from all local governments. This includes city planners, designers and other urban professionals working for local city government. If you are not a city official but have an established history of working closely with a local government for example as part of an NGO, you can form a team with the municipality you are working with.
The Urban 95 Academy takes place over seven weeks across 15 online learning modules and seven weekly virtual meetings with LSE academic faculty and guest lecturers. Participants should expect to commit roughly four hours per week to the online course.
Participants of city teams that are selected to attend the fully sponsored Residence Week in London will need to be able to travel and participate in a range of events and in-person training over the course of the week at the LSE in London. The Residence Week takes places three months after the online course.
To find out more about the Urban95 Academy and how to submit a successful application watch the recorded information session covering programme FAQs, pre-requisites, and any other queries regarding the application process.
“The (Urban95 Academy) residence week was like a huge punch for us. It’s very impressive and useful for me to be able to identify that 80% of the time should be about engaging the community – how to tell a story, how to communicate better, how to make sense out of a project.”
Claudio Castro
Mayor, Renca, Chile