Global Scans · Cities · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Smart cities are the talk of the town right now and so they should be to cope when over 60% of us will live in cities by 2030. E-bikes, Driverless- connected vehicles, buildings that talk to each other will help but many cities are susceptible to climate change and pandemics. Explore the issues faced by cities and the new ideas that will change the way urban dwellers live in the 21st century.

• [New] The Pact seeks to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to put nature on a path to recovery for the benefit of people and the planet in cities worldwide by 2030. UN Decade on Restoration
• [New] Fastest-growing Region: Asia Pacific is expected to be also the fastest-growing region, driven by rapid urbanization, increasing disposable incomes, and significant investments in cold-chain infrastructure and modern retail systems. Persistence Market Research
• [New] If successful, what Dubai is building will be the most complete real-world demonstration of AI-driven urban governance in existence - a proof of concept that other cities, from London to Lagos to Los Angeles, will study, adapt, and replicate. BUSINESS 2.0 NEWS
• [New] The Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment is building a city-scale data mesh projected to support AED 10 billion in GDP growth within two years. BUSINESS 2.0 NEWS
• [New] Asia Pacific is expected to grow rapidly with a CAGR of 20.5% throughout the forecast period, fueled by growing disposable incomes, rapid urbanization, rising vehicle production, and increasing investments in electric and autonomous vehicles. Precedence Research
• [New] As cities worldwide seek cleaner, more efficient transport systems, the adoption of shared vehicles is expected to continue rising significantly over the forecast period. openpr
• [New] City and state officials already granted Waymo, which is expected to benefit most from an expansion of driverless vehicles, permission to test a small number of supervised autonomous taxis in New York City, at least through the end of March. Black Car News
• [New] In New York City, Sandy Nurse, a councilmember, recently introduced a bill to increase New York City's minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030 for large employers, giving small businesses more time, by 2032, to catch up. The Guardian
• [New] As the UAE moves toward building a smart city and a diverse, knowledge-based economy, sectors such as healthcare, finance, logistics, and sustainability are seeing many opportunities to leverage AI. Business Setup Services in UAE | Stratrich Consulting
• [New] The cities building AI, Silicon Valley, Boston, Seattle, Washington D.C., face the highest displacement risk from the very technology they are creating. Now to Next
• [New] Smart city initiatives and the digitization of industries (e.g., automobile and manufacturing), which are occurring globally, will increase the activities associated with deploying IoT solutions for areas such as traffic control, energy consumption, public safety, and public utility. MarketGenics
• [New] $4 trillion in real estate could be tokenized globally by 2035, and Dubai's pilot initiatives may inform how other cities assess the potential role of blockchain technology in property registration and tokenization programs. Amplify ETFs
• [New] With 70% of the world's population expected to live in cities by 2030, vertical farming solves the problem of Food Miles. Janhit Bharat
• [New] Commercial operations are slated to begin in San Francisco and Miami in 2028, eventually expanding to 25 cities globally by 2031. Global Financial Market Review
• [New] Driverless robotaxis will be accepting fares in Britain's biggest city by the end of 2027. The Guardian
• [New] Uber plans to launch robotaxis equipped with Nvidia autonomous hardware and software in 28 cities beginning in 2027. National Law Review
• [New] Smart technologies such as AI could help cities reduce crime by 30-40% and reduce response times for emergency services by 20-35%. Rev
• [New] Dubai's next phase of smart city evolution will be defined by autonomy and interoperability. WDCS Technology
• [New] On a broader scale, global connected devices are estimated to reach 39 billion by 2030, with smart cities representing a significant share of adoption. WDCS Technology
• [New] Air taxis could begin limited operations in select US cities as early as summer 2026. CyberGuy

Last updated: 04 April 2026