Norman Foster founded Foster + Partners, a global studio for architecture, urbanism and design rooted in sustainability, in 1967. He devotes much of his time to the study of cities and their future and leads the United Nations Forum of Mayors. Since the 1960s he has promoted sustainability through his practice with green infrastructure around the world. The Norman Foster Foundation, founded in London in 1999 and established in Madrid in 2011 with a global outlook, promotes interdisciplinary thinking and research applied to contemporary urban challenges. Since 2017 it has developed educational programs and technological research projects focused on cities. In 1997 he was appointed to the Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II and in 1999 he was elevated to the peerage as Lord Foster of Thames Bank.