Here’s our latest look at the news and trends reshaping cities and the future of urban development.
You Should Know
- Saudi Arabia is dramatically scaling back The Line, the 170km megacity at the core of Neom, as soaring costs and impractical designs stall progress, as reported by The Financial Times. The project has shrunk from 20 planned districts to just three, with $50 billion already spent amid growing reports of delays, layoffs, and labor rights concerns.
- The U.S. housing affordability crunch has reached new extremes. First-time buyers accounted for a record low of 21% of home purchase transactions, with their median age rising to 40, the oldest ever, per NAR.
- Global EV sales hit a record 2.1 million units in September 2025, up 26% year over year, with battery-electric vehicles making up 21% of all new cars sold worldwide, according to research firm Rho Motion. Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 led global sales.
Worth Watching
- How Dallas-Forth Worth is becoming America’s next megacity.
- Why the UAE is building a $5B casino in the gambling-free Gulf.
- Exploring the world’s largest $100B failed ghost city.
Top Stories
Dubai’s Plan to Become the World’s Most Livable, Sustainable, Healthiest City
Dubai has unveiled a sweeping $5 billion plan to become the world’s most livable, sustainable, and healthiest city by 2033. The initiatives form part of Dubai Plan 2033, guided by the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the current ruler of Dubai.
A key pillar is the Public Parks and Greenery Strategy, which will deliver 310 new parks, upgrades to 322 existing ones, 120 new open spaces, and 70 improved road corridors linking communities. The plan will triple Dubai’s tree count and expand green space to 187 square kilometers — about 11 square meters per person — while using 100% recycled water for irrigation. By 2040, 80% of residents will live within a five-minute walk of a neighborhood park and a ten-minute cycle of a district park, transforming accessibility and quality of life.
Healthcare will advance through the Early Detection Healthcare Services Project, targeting a 40% rise in early colon cancer screening, a 50% increase in vaccinations, and reduced test waiting times to under seven days — with patient satisfaction exceeding 90%. Sheikh Hamdan called the initiative “an investment in the future,” aimed at extending healthy life expectancy.
Education will expand through 60 new affordable, high-quality schools by 2033, adding 120,000 student seats. Reduced fees and land costs will attract investors, supporting Dubai’s ambition to rank among the top ten global education systems.
The Aviation Talent 33 initiative aims to strengthen Dubai’s standing as a global aviation hub. As Al Maktoum International Airport grows into one of the largest airports in the world, the program will create 15,000 new jobs and 4,000 training positions for Emiratis by 2033.
In sports, the Sports Sector Strategic Plan 2033 introduces 19 programs and 75 initiatives across 17 disciplines to boost participation, support athletes, and attract major global events.
Finally, a new Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Court will streamline bankruptcy cases, protect creditors, and enhance investor confidence, reinforcing Dubai’s position as a top-three global financial hub.
Sheikh Hamdan described the plan as a unified effort to make Dubai “the most advanced, attractive, and sustainable city in the world.”
Millions in Australia Will Get Free Electricity Thanks to Solar Boom
Australia’s solar revolution has reached a point few nations have yet imagined: beginning in mid-2026, roughly 14 million people across three states will receive up to three hours of free electricity every day. The new Solar Sharer scheme represents a major milestone in Australia’s renewable energy policy.
The plan will begin in New South Wales, South Australia, and South-East Queensland, covering about half of Australia’s population. Residents will not need rooftop solar panels to qualify. Anyone with a smart meter and a compatible energy plan can opt in, gaining access to free electricity during the middle of the day when solar generation peaks and demand is low.
This scheme allows renters and apartment dwellers, who have traditionally been excluded from rooftop solar benefits, to share in the nation’s renewable abundance.
Australia now has more than four million homes with solar panels, among the highest adoption rates in the world. Rooftop installations cost only about $840 (USD) per kilowatt of capacity before rebates — roughly a third of the U.S. cost — driving rapid uptake nationwide. The result: daytime solar generation increasingly outpaces consumption, sending wholesale electricity prices to zero or even negative values as grids overflow with clean energy.
The government encourages residents to run power-hungry appliances such as air conditioners, dishwashers, and EV chargers during the free-power window, likely between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
By realigning consumption with production, the policy is expected to ease evening grid pressure, lower infrastructure costs, and reduce the need for large-scale battery storage. It also supports Australia’s broader climate goals: achieving 82% renewable electricity by 2030 and cutting emissions 43% below 2005 levels.
Not everyone is convinced. The Australian Energy Council has voiced concerns that retailers were not properly consulted and questioned how costs will be balanced outside solar hours.
If successful, the Solar Sharer scheme could expand nationwide by 2027 — making Australia perhaps the first country where the challenge isn’t energy scarcity or affordability, but managing an oversupply of clean solar power.
EU Unveils €550B Rail Plan to Unite Europe at High Speed
Europe is embarking on one of the most ambitious transportation expansions in its history — a €550 billion ($587 billion) plan to connect its cities through new, faster, and more integrated high-speed rail corridors.
Announced by the European Commission on November 5, the plan sets binding targets for all 27 member states to complete the core and extended-core high-speed corridors by 2040, with the first new lines operational by 2030.
Each member state must submit national implementation plans by 2027, outlining construction schedules, funding sources, and cross-border commitments.
The plan’s strategy focuses on connectivity and speed. By 2040, every EU capital will be linked to a unified network where upgraded lines run at a minimum of 200 km/h and new lines at 250 km/h or more. The European Rail Traffic Management System will become mandatory, replacing incompatible national signaling systems.
The Commission envisions travel-time reductions across the continent. Trips such as Paris–Madrid will fall to about six hours, Copenhagen–Berlin to four hours (from seven), and Paris–Rome to 8 hours 45 minutes (from nearly 11).
New routes will open up cross-border connectivity in underserved regions, including a Tallinn–Warsaw corridor via Riga and Vilnius with a travel time of 7 hours 40 minutes, and a Lisbon–Paris route via Madrid taking around nine hours. By 2035, Prague–Vienna will drop to 2 hours 15 minutes (from four), Vienna–Warsaw to 4 hours 15 minutes (from 7 hours 30 minutes), and by 2040, Budapest–Vienna will shrink from 2 hours 40 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes, while Budapest–Bucharest will fall from 15 hours to just over six.
To make rail more competitive with air travel, the EU plans to increase the number of train operators, following models in Spain and Italy, where competition lowered ticket prices. Recognizing that train tickets can still cost twice as much as flights, the Commission wants to create one-click, cross-border rail ticketing across multiple operators.
The Connecting Europe Facility, InvestEU, and the European Investment Bank will play major roles in financing. In addition, the EU will expand train manufacturing capacity, which faces delivery times of four to six years per train order.
Amazon Reigns as the World’s Capital Expenditure King
No company on Earth spends more on capital expenditures than Amazon. The company says it is on pace to spend an unprecedented $125 billion in 2025, with most of it directed toward the data centers powering its vast cloud and artificial intelligence empire. Amazon spent more than $34 billion last quarter alone, and executives expect next year’s total to surpass even 2025’s record levels.
According to Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman, the company is planning “three to five years ahead of demand”—securing land, power, and even laying groundwork for a transatlantic undersea cable that won’t be operational until 2030.
Much of Amazon’s spending will fund data centers, networking equipment, custom chips, and large-scale investments in power generation and logistics infrastructure.
A cornerstone of this expansion is Project Rainier, a newly operational $11 billion, 1,200-acre AI campus in New Carlisle, Indiana. Designed to be one of the world’s largest AI compute clusters, it runs on Amazon’s custom Trainium 2 chips rather than NVIDIA GPUs. More than 500,000 Trainium 2 chips have already been deployed at the Indiana site, training Anthropic’s Claude AI.
This focus on in-house silicon—supported by similar large-scale clusters across multiple states—reflects a deliberate vertical integration strategy to control costs, boost performance, and secure dedicated capacity for top AI customers.
Elsewhere in the U.S., Amazon has announced a $20 billion investment in Pennsylvania to build 15 data centers on a 1,600-acre campus, another $10 billion in Mississippi for two new data center complexes—the largest capital investment in that state’s history—and $10 billion in North Carolina for new AWS facilities in Richmond County. And just last week, Amazon paid $700 million for a 270-acre site in Virginia zoned for 3.5 million square feet of data center space.
Internationally, the company plans to invest $13 billion in Australia by 2029. The project includes new data center campuses in Melbourne and Sydney, supported by solar farms in Victoria and Queensland to power the facilities with renewable energy.
Undeniably, the foundation of the AI era rests heavily on Amazon’s infrastructure.
Big Deals
- Infravision raises $91M to revolutionize power infrastructure construction with aerial robotics.
- Sonida Senior Living’s $1.8B acquisition of CNL Healthcare Properties creates senior housing giant.
- Dezer secures $630M for luxury Bentley condos in Florida.
- ContourGlobal raises $350M for Colorado solar project.
- Ytech secures $565M loan to build Miami luxury condo tower.
- CBRE acquires Pearce Services for $1.2B, boosting data center infrastructure services.
- BXP sells Reston Town Center apartments for $240M.
- Autonomous driving technology company (and direct competitor to Waymo) Pony.ai raises $860M in its IPO in Hong Kong,
Extra Reads
- What happened when small-town America became Data Center, U.S.A.
- Microsoft plans a $15.2B AI-related investment in the UAE.
- Baidu’s robotaxi rides surpass 250,000 weekly, matching Waymo.
- LEAG and Fluence to build Europe’s largest battery storage project.
- NVIDIA partners with Deutsche Telekom for a €1B AI data center.
- Sponge cities transform urban landscapes to manage floodwater sustainably.
- Texas struggles to manage soaring energy demands from data centers.
- São Paulo launches $1.6B highway modernization megaproject.
- Japan plans 10,000 self-driving vehicles by 2030.
- NVIDIA showcases smart city technologies through innovative AI partnerships.
- Texas voters approve a historic $20B water infrastructure investment.
- China’s renewable energy dominance is exemplified by Laos’ Monsoon Project.
- South Korea mandates solar canopies on all parking lots with over 80 spaces.