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] Expansion into emerging markets such as Asia-Pacific and Latin America presents significant growth opportunities due to rising urbanization and changing dietary preferences. HTF MI
• [New] Asia Pacific is growing at a compounding annual growth rate of 5.84% during the predicted timeframe, owing to increasing urbanization, a strong pharmaceutical base, rising disposable incomes, and a growing geriatric population, which contributes to a surge in demand for muscle relaxants. Precedence Research
• [New] Invasive mosquitoes: Anopheles stephensi, an urban-dwelling, insecticide-resistant mosquito, is expanding its range in Africa, posing a new threat to cities. Australian Society for Parasitology
• [New] Median house prices will increase in most capital cities, putting further pressure on borrowers. SBS News
• [New] Northeastern U.S. states will see a minor partial eclipse that day, with New York City experiencing 10% obscuration, Boston 16%, and Bar Harbour, Maine, 24%. Grand Pinnacle Tribune
• [New] At least one additional World Cup host city will likely publicly disclose similar counter-UAS readiness gaps, as the FEMA funding timeline and FBI training bottleneck described in Maryland are structural constraints affecting all 11 host cities equally. Drone Warfare
• [New] House prices in two cities will lift by more than $50,000 by the end of 2026 despite rate hikes putting a handbrake on borrowing power. Sky News Australia
• [New] Israel said it will occupy large swathes of southern Lebanon to establish a security zone in the entire area up to the Litani River, and displaced people will not be permitted to return to their homes until there is a guarantee of safety for northern Israeli cities. Truthout
• [New] A national Parking Platform will make life simpler for motorists and end parking app frustrations, and a new Google Maps partnership will give passengers real-time bus tracking in both cities and rural areas. UKAuthority
• [New] Waymo and Waze launched a data-sharing pilot program that will funnel pothole data collected by robotaxis to a free Waze platform designed for cities. TechCrunch
• [New] Cities are especially at risk once global temperatures climb 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, because dense populations burn through water supplies fast. earth.com
• [New] Demonstration flights in US cities are expected to begin summer 2026, giving Americans their first close-up look at eVTOL aircraft operating in urban environments. eVTOL.Travel
• [New] Singapore and China have signed a memorandum of understanding for a new smart city twinning initiative that also opens several opportunities for communications industries to collaborate in various sectors including intelligent transport, smart education and smart environment management. ITS International
• [New] Singapore and China have teamed up on the development of smart cities opening up new opportunities for local enterprises. ITS International
• [New] Global urban populations are projected to reach 68% by 2050 according to United Nations data, with mega-cities experiencing traffic congestion costs exceeding 3-5% of regional GDP. Persistence Market Research

Last updated: 18 April 2026