Stay ahead of global urban development, infrastructure, energy, and transit trends with our latest newsletter.
You Should Know
- China will open the world’s tallest bridge this month. The Huajiang Canyon Bridge can can fit almost two Eiffel Towers beneath it.
- A landmark McKinsey report highlights that global infrastructure investment demand will reach $106 trillion by 2040. Transport & logistics will be the biggest investment vertical. (Deeper summary in our Top Stories section below.)
- Lumber futures fell to their lowest level in almost a year—below $530 per thousand board feet—suggesting sluggish U.S. housing construction.
- Floridians have some of the fastest rising rent bills in the U.S. Rents surged nearly 40% from 2019–2023 as the state added over a million households, according to the University of Florida.
Worth Watching
- Why do wind turbines have three blades?
- Manhattan’s super-slender 262 Fifth Avenue may “bury” Manhattan’s soul (and views of the Empire State Building).
- The Playground Guy (professional playground architect/designer) shows the top 5 playgrounds in the world.
Top Stories
China Is Executing the Largest Water Transfer Project in History
China’s South–North Water Transfer Project is the world’s largest water diversion scheme and among the most ambitious infrastructure endeavors ever attempted. Conceived in the 1950s by Mao Zedong—who famously said, “the south has plenty of water, the north little”—the plan became reality in 2003. However, the full project may not be complete until mid-century.
The goal of the water transfer project is to channel up to 44.8 billion cubic meters of water each year from the resource-rich Yangtze basin to arid northern regions, including Beijing and Tianjin, where water scarcity once threatened both agriculture and industry.
The project stretches more than 2,700 miles across China and is divided into three routes. The Eastern Route upgrades the Grand Canal, with 23 pumping stations totaling 454 megawatts to move water north. The Central Route, or Grand Aqueduct, runs 1,200 kilometers from the Danjiangkou Reservoir and uses gravity alone to supply Beijing. It required two tunnels under the Yellow River and relocation of 330,000 residents. The still-unfinished Western Route would tap rivers from the Tibetan Plateau to supply northwestern provinces.
The scale of resources deployed is extraordinary. By 2024, China had invested more than 500 billion yuan—over $70 billion—making it the world’s costliest water infrastructure scheme. Construction required decades of effort, over 1,300 bridges, twin tunnels under the Yellow River, and tens of thousands of workers and engineers.
The project’s engineering is equally impressive. The Central Route maintains a continuous downhill gradient, eliminating pumps across 1,200 kilometers. The Eastern Route’s massive pumping system pushes water under rivers and through aqueducts, while the Western Route, if completely built, would be among the most complex hydraulic engineering challenges on Earth.
The impact is clear. By 2024, more than 76 cubic kilometers of water had been delivered northward. Rivers, lakes, and aquifers have been replenished, easing shortages. Cities like Beijing and Tianjin now enjoy more reliable water security, while industries and agriculture benefit from improved supply.
Yet questions remain about sustainability, evaporation losses, and ecological costs. Still, the South–North Water Transfer Project stands as a symbol of China’s determination to tackle existential challenges through infrastructure at unprecedented scale.
Urban Planning Insights from the London Tube Strike
The recent five-day London Tube strike offered an extraordinary social experiment in how a modern city adapts when its core transport network is disabled. With most Underground services suspended, millions of daily journeys were disrupted, forcing Londoners to rethink how they travel—or whether to travel at all.
In the age of hybrid work, many office-based employees simply logged on from home. This option helped blunt the scale of disruption compared with strikes a decade ago. But for those who still needed to be physically present, London’s streets and alternative systems became testbeds of commuter behavior.
Cycling saw the most dramatic increase. London’s cycling commissioner reported nearly two million trips on the first day alone, far above the weekday average of 1.4 million. Lime e-bike rides rose by more than 50% during peak hours, while Santander cycle hires nearly doubled across the city.
That surge, however, came with drawbacks. The London Ambulance Service reported a 44% rise in bike collisions during the strike. At the same time, e-bikes became scarce, with some commuters competing fiercely for access and even taking creative measures like removing pedals overnight to secure a ride for the next morning.
Other transport options carried added weight. Elizabeth line ridership jumped 26%, Overground use climbed 20%, and bus journeys rose 5%, although these services often struggled with overcrowding and delays. Research from Cambridge University on past strikes suggests that around 5% of commuters forced to try new routes end up keeping them permanently.
For urban planners, the strike’s lessons are clear. Resilient cities require multiple strong networks—rail, bus, cycling, and walking—that can absorb shocks when one system fails. Flexible work remains an underappreciated safety valve. And major disruptions, while difficult, often push commuters to experiment in ways that can reshape habits almost overnight.
America’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Being Built Is a Marvel
The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, led by Dominion Energy, is reshaping the scale of U.S. renewable energy. Located 27 miles off Virginia Beach, the 176-turbine facility will generate 2.6 gigawatts (GW)—making it the largest offshore wind project in U.S. history. When complete in late 2026, it will deliver enough clean electricity to power 660,000 homes.
The project is already about 60% complete, with two pilot turbines producing power since 2020 and additional turbines scheduled for installation this summer. Each new Siemens Gamesa turbine generates 14.7 MW, with blades stretching 351 feet, longer than a football field. When assembled, a full rotor sweeps an area larger than seven football fields.
Each turbine is anchored by a monopile foundation driven deep into the seabed. These monopiles extend over 250 feet and weigh more than 1,500 tons. Offshore, two massive substations—sometimes called “energy islands”—will gather power from the turbines. Each is the size of a building, weighs thousands of tons, and rests on steel jacket foundations. More than 80 miles of high-voltage subsea cables will connect turbines to the substations and then to Virginia’s grid.
Onshore, the Portsmouth Marine Terminal has been redeveloped as a staging ground where turbines, blades, and towers are assembled before being shipped offshore. The turbines are engineered to withstand Category 5 hurricane winds, ensuring resilience in the Atlantic’s storm-prone waters.
The $10 billion project has faced hurdles, including an executive order signed by Trump that halted new leases for offshore wind in federal waters, and the prospect of tariffs adding $500 million in costs. Still, bipartisan support in Virginia and the Clean Economy Act, which mandates 100% renewable energy by 2050, have sustained momentum. Dominion projects $3 billion in fuel savings during the first decade of operation, along with thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent roles.
Environmental safeguards are central to CVOW. Construction is limited to May–October to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales, with additional measures like vessel speed limits and noise reduction during pile driving.
With Virginia hosting the world’s largest data center market, demand for reliable clean energy is growing rapidly. CVOW combines scale, engineering innovation, and environmental care, positioning it as a cornerstone of America’s renewable future.
Landmark McKinsey Report Aims to Change How We See Infrastructure
McKinsey just released an excellent report that reframes infrastructure and what is means for sector stakeholders. It’s definitely worth a read: here.
The consulting firm argues that infrastructure is being fundamentally redefined. Beyond roads, bridges, and power grids, today’s “infrastructure” increasingly includes data-center campuses, fiber and satellites, EV charging, AI-enabled control systems, and the specialized services (inspection, maintenance, remote monitoring) that keep them running.
McKinsey estimates the world will need $106 trillion in cumulative investment through 2040 across seven verticals: transport & logistics ($36T), energy & power ($23T), digital ($19T), social ($16T), waste & water ($6T), agriculture ($5T), and defense ($2T).
Multiple market forces are blurring vertical infrastructure boundaries. AI-driven data centers, for example, bind digital to energy and water; EV corridors span transportation, power, and payments; sustainable fuels sit at the nexus of agriculture, waste, energy, and logistics. Because value now emerges at these intersections, siloed planning no longer works.
Capital is following this shift. Private infrastructure assets under management tripled from ~$500B (2016) to $1.5T (2024), with cross-vertical strategies attracting ~75% of capital raised in late 2023–mid-2024. Deal mix is tilting toward digital and renewables, while traditional transport’s share has declined. Regionally, Asia could absorb ~$70T (urbanization, industrial growth), the Americas ~$16T (modernization, digital build-out, Latin American urban growth), and Europe ~$13T (lifecycle renewal, grid and digital upgrades to meet climate targets).
Seven macro trends will shape outcomes: asset age, urbanization/demographics, AI/digitalization, uneven energy transition, the rise (and constraints) of private capital, geopolitics/trade policy uncertainty, and labor shortages that are already delaying projects and pressuring costs. Meeting needs will require more power, more transmission, more water resilience, and more digital capacity—all delivered faster, with fewer skilled workers.
Implications by stakeholder:
- Policymakers should prioritize sectors, streamline permitting, repurpose assets, and attract private capital.
- Investors should expand mandates, pursue cross-vertical plays, and focus on operational value creation.
- Operators should deploy tech, grow service revenues, and extend asset lifespans.
Bottom line: the next decade is decisive. Those who integrate across verticals, mobilize private capital at scale, and execute with technology-enabled efficiency will shape connectivity, growth, and societal well-being for a generation.
Big Deals
- Extell scores $1.2B in equity from hedge funds for nine projects, including Disney campus.
- Jonathan Rose Co. closes $660M fund for affordable housing preservation.
- Manulife & TruAmerica launch $1B joint venture acquiring 51 affordable properties.
- Vireo ventures closes €50M Electrification Fund for startups securing Europe’s energy independence.
- Eni-CDP JV GreenIT raises €370M to build renewables in Italy.
- Transit-tech firm Via valued at $3.5B in NYSE IPO.
- Torus raises $200M to deploy modular power plants.
Extra Reads
- California’s high-speed rail secures $1B annual funding through 2045.
- EPA decides it doesn’t want companies to report greenhouse gases.
- The quintessential urban design of Sesame Street.
- FAA’s new program allows eVTOL startups to test operations early.
- Ethiopia launches Africa’s largest dam.
- Startup’s innovative drill rig aims to drastically reduce geothermal heating costs.
- Cape Cod towns push for luxury real estate transfer fee to combat housing crisis.
- China begins groundbreaking hydrogen energy project, reshaping global energy landscape.
- California’s first solar-covered canal is now fully online.
- Sacred Mount Sinai faces transformation into a luxury resort.
- Brazil’s electricity now derives over one-third from wind and solar.
- Ireland to set a higher bar for legal challenges to infrastructure projects.
- Universal and SeaWorld Orlando file permits for exciting expansions.