Here’s your weekly insight into the forces shaping cities, infrastructure, and the urban future.
You Should Know
- The U.S. government and Westinghouse have launched an $80 billion program to deploy AP1000 nuclear reactors nationwide—the largest U.S. nuclear initiative in decades—creating over 100,000 construction jobs.
- OpenAI and Oracle’s Stargate AI infrastructure program recently announced two new data centers: a $15 billion, 1 GW campus in Wisconsin with Vantage Data Centers and a multi-billion dollar, 1 GW site in Michigan with Related Digital. This follows the launch of its first campus in Texas earlier this year.
- Japan’s Linear Chuo Shinkansen, a maglev line between Tokyo and Nagoya that uses superconducting magnets, is arguably the most advanced bullet train under construction. The project recently announced an eight-year delay and $26 billion in cost overruns.
Worth Watching
- Beijing vs. Barcelona: two cities, one big urban design idea.
- Can $68 billion save New York’s subway?
- Why do some countries only have one big city?
Top Stories
Saudi Arabia Is Building an Epic “City of Play”
Rising from the cliffs of the Tuwaiq Mountains southwest of Riyadh, Qiddiya City is one of Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious Vision 2030 megaprojects — a “City of Play” that reimagines how entertainment, sports, and culture shape urban life. Backed by the Public Investment Fund, the 334-square-kilometer city — three times the size of Walt Disney World — is planned to host 500,000 residents and millions of visitors.
Estimated to cost tens of billions of dollars, the project will feature 400 attractions, 12 theme parks, nature reserves, and more than 40 sports venues, all connected to Riyadh by metro, highways, and a high-speed rail line just 30 minutes from King Salman International Airport.
Among its centerpiece developments is Six Flags Qiddiya City. Slated to open in late 2025, the amusement park spans 320,000 square meters and is located just minutes from downtown Riyadh, offering 28 rides and attractions, including Falcon’s Flight — set to be the world’s fastest, tallest, and longest roller coaster — alongside dozens of retail and dining experiences.
Also planned is Aquarabia, the Middle East’s largest water theme park. The park spans 250,000 square meters and features 22 rides, Saudi Arabia’s first surf pool, “Surftopia,” and the Kingdom’s premier white-water kayaking venue. Nearby, the Dragon Ball Theme Park immerses visitors in the legendary anime universe through vast, interconnected lands — bringing Kame House Island, Capsule Corporation, and Beerus’ Planet to life.
Qiddiya City’s sports venues rival its entertainment hubs. The Speed Park Track features 21 corners, 80 garages, open and street layouts, and “The Blade,” the world’s first cantilevered track, where cars top 325 km/h and Formula 1 races are planned. Overlooking it, the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium seats up to 60,900 for concerts and football, hosting more than 60 matches a year. Nearby, the 183,100-square-meter Gaming & Esports District includes 73,000 seats and regional gaming headquarters.
Qiddiya’s cultural identity is embodied in its Performing Arts Centre — a 2,000-seat complex of three 360° venues that blend live performance with immersive digital technology, featuring VR, AR, and AI-enhanced productions.
By 2030, developers expect Qiddiya to attract 17 million visitors annually and create 325,000 jobs, transforming it into one of the world’s largest tourism destinations. Blending futuristic design with the desert landscape, Qiddiya City reimagines what a city built for joy, culture, and innovation can be.
San Diego Has a Much Better Use for a Golf Course
San Diego is transforming a 200-acre golf course in Mission Valley into one of California’s most ambitious mixed-use redevelopments — Riverwalk San Diego, a $3 billion project that will become the city’s first transit-oriented village. The plan reimagines the former golf course as a dynamic live-work-play community featuring revitalized riverfront habitat, expansive parkland, and direct access to the San Diego Trolley.
Led by Hines in partnership with Affinius Capital, Bank OZK, Related Fund Management, and Heitman, Riverwalk San Diego will ultimately deliver 4,300 homes, including 10% affordable housing, along with 1 million square feet of office space and 150,000 square feet of neighborhood retail. At its core, a new San Diego Trolley Green Line station will anchor the community, connecting residents directly to downtown and regional destinations.
More than half of the site — 110 acres — will be dedicated to parks and open space, including restoration of the San Diego River and expansion of the River Trail. The project also includes flood-capacity improvements along Fashion Valley Road. Designed to reduce car dependency and promote sustainable urban living, Riverwalk aligns closely with San Diego’s Climate Action Plan, integrating housing, mobility, and green infrastructure to support a more connected city.
Phase 1, now underway, represents a $380 million investment that will deliver over 700 market-rate homes, 75,000 square feet of grocery-anchored retail, and a new village green. Designed by Gensler, this phase also includes The Becker, a 190-home affordable housing community developed with Wakeland Housing & Development Corporation, which secured $41.1 million from California’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program—the largest AHSC grant ever awarded in San Diego County.
Launching at a pivotal moment for the real estate market, Riverwalk reflects growing demand for high-quality, integrated communities after years of uncertainty driven by remote work and shifting demographics. Construction of the affordable housing component begins in early 2025, with the first homes opening in 2028 and full project completion expected by 2029.
The Global Fight to Break NIMBY Power
Governments worldwide are tackling a key obstacle to the housing crisis — NIMBYism (“Not In My Backyard”), the resistance of residents to nearby development. Driven by fears of lower property values, congestion, or changing neighborhood character, NIMBYism has long hindered affordable housing and urban growth. Fighting NIMBYism is difficult because it thrives in systems that grant local councils and community boards veto power over new developments. Well-organized homeowners often dominate hearings, while the broader benefits of affordable housing or transit-oriented growth are diffuse and long-term.
Governments are now taking direct aim at these structural barriers, seeking to centralize approval powers, streamline zoning, and curb the ability of small groups to block projects. Here are four notable efforts to fight NIMBYism:
- New York City – Voters this November will decide whether to curb city council members’ power to block housing projects in their districts. The ballot measures would speed up reviews for affordable housing in neighborhoods that have built the fewest units and expand citywide zoning flexibility — such as allowing basement or garage conversions into apartments. Gov. Kathy Hochul backs the plan as a response to median Manhattan rents nearing $5,000 and a 1.4% vacancy rate.
- Germany – Berlin’s new housing acceleration law, introduced in June 2025, sets strict timelines for project approvals: if local authorities don’t reject a plan within two months, it’s automatically approved. The government also launched a €500 billion investment fund for affordable housing and eased restrictions on vertical expansion to promote denser urban growth.
- California – Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a landmark law last month permitting apartment buildings near rail and bus stations, a major break from decades of restrictive zoning. California also rolled back a key environmental law often used to halt development. Despite local backlash, advocates argue the reforms mark a “Manhattanization” of Los Angeles that’s necessary to counter runaway housing costs.
- Sydney – In Sydney’s upscale suburbs, state governments in New South Wales and Victoria have stripped some zoning powers from local councils to fast-track multi-story housing near transit hubs. Apartment approvals surged 90% in the first half of the year, signaling early results from the reforms.
These moves share a common goal — to rebalance housing policy from local obstruction toward collective progress.
Paris Has a Genius Plan for Underground Garages
Deep beneath Paris’ Avenue des Champs-Élysées, AI-guided robots are already shaping a new era of urban retail logistics. The 172,200-square-foot Atelier Logistique, developed by Swiss Life Asset Managers and Mont Thabor, transforms a nine-story underground parking garage into a next-generation logistics hub supporting one of the world’s most expensive shopping streets.
The former garage — reaching deeper than the Seine — embodies Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s “15-minute city” vision. With retail rents averaging €15,000 (~$16,000) per square meter, Swiss Life found that 8–14% of store space on the Champs-Élysées is lost to stockrooms. The new facility aims to reclaim that space for retail while offering fast, sustainable logistics just minutes away from key shopping districts.
Brands will be able to store, sort, and deliver merchandise via electric vehicles or cargo bikes within 15–30 minutes. The project includes 108,000 square feet of storage and robots developed with a French defense contractor. Deliveries will move through separate docks on Rue de Ponthieu and Rue de La Boétie, enabling night operations by small, 12-ton trucks that unload within 20 minutes.
Swiss Life collaborated with Renault on small electric vehicles and with Kleuster on cargo bikes. The system is expected to cut delivery-related emissions by 32%, saving roughly 476 tons of carbon annually.
The center, which will create around 100 jobs, opens later this year and will be fully operational by mid-2026. Swiss Life plans to expand the model to other global cities, positioning Atelier Logistique as a blueprint for low-carbon, high-efficiency commerce in dense urban centers.
Big Deals
- Remedy-Kayne Anderson JV buys portfolio of 300 medical offices for $7.2B.
- Spacial raises $10M to automate home construction.
- Sizable Energy raises $8M for ocean-based energy storage launch.
- Meridiam raises over $1.8B for its North America infrastructure fund.
- IntrCity SmartBus secures $30M expand its intercity bus network.
- Emerald AI raises $18M to enhance energy-flexible data centers.
Extra Reads
- Amazon opens $11B AI data center in Indiana.
- NYC Queens development plans advance to create 26,500 new homes.
- Uber plans to roll out robotaxis in San Francisco by 2026.
- DMCC to launch a new Financial Centre in Dubai.
- NVIDIA and Uber partner with Stellantis, Lucid, and Mercedes to deploy 100,000 Level 4 autonomous vehicles.
- Availability of Electrify America, the largest open Hyper-Fast charging network, now on Google Maps.
- Bechtel and Kiewit partner on $550B Japan-funded U.S. energy infrastructure.
- NextEra Energy plans to restart Iowa’s Duane Arnold nuclear plant.
- Meta signed three deals last week to procure 1 GW of solar power.
- Oman aims to transform Duqm into a urban center for tourism and business.
- The Grand Egyptian Museum, the largest museum in the world dedicated to a single civilization, has completed construction.