Buildings & Design

  • Washington state energy efficiency grants
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    Wackerhausen via Getty Images
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    Washington State grants $14.3M for public building retrofits

    Twenty-six recipients will use the funds for energy-efficient improvements to schools, hospitals, and other public buildings, the Washington State Department of Commerce says.

    By Brian Martucci • Feb. 24, 2025
  • A rendering of a large building in Chicago with the word "Bally's" emblazoned on the side in red, over a river.
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    Courtesy of HKS
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    Bally’s $1.7B Chicago casino gains site approval

    The gaming development is slated to rise on the site of the old Chicago Tribune printing plant along the Chicago River.

    By Matthew Thibault • Feb. 21, 2025
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline➔
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    jamesteohart via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive

    From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
  • The Boston Harbor and Financial district in Boston, Massachusetts, USA at sunrise showcasing its mix of contemporary and historic buildings.
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    Marcio Silva via Getty Images
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    Boston expands net-zero emissions requirements to new buildings, large additions

    The zoning change requires most new buildings to be net zero when they open. The city previously set similar performance standards for existing buildings.

    By Joe Burns • Feb. 4, 2025
  • View of the White House with flowers and fountain in front.
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    OlegAlbinsky via Getty Images
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    The Smart Cities Outlook for 2025: Change is coming

    From new federal policies to growing technologies like AI and robotaxis, cities will encounter many changes while they continue to tackle housing, homelessness, climate and equity issues.

    By Smart Cities Dive Staff • Jan. 31, 2025
  • Rendering of the $1.6 billion hospital on the Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital Campus in northeast Houston.
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    Courtesy of Harris Health
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    9 largest commercial construction starts of December 2024

    Billion-dollar projects, including a hospital replacement in Houston and a Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, kicked off even as overall construction activity cooled to close the year.

    By Sebastian Obando • Jan. 27, 2025
  • Construction workers and a backhoe working on a highway.
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    John Moore via Getty Images
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    What Trump’s infrastructure funding pause means for cities

    A judge in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration Monday to "immediately restore withheld funds." The White House has appealed the order.

    By • Updated Feb. 13, 2025
  • President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance will be sworn in on January 20.
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    Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    5 ways builders say Trump can support construction

    The Associated General Contractors of America itemized priorities for the new administration that will help bolster building activity.

    By Sebastian Obando • Jan. 21, 2025
  • Two people walk in a hallway with lockers on the walls and signage by each door in the hallway.
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    Permission granted by Michael Persico
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    Adaptive reuse breathes new life into abandoned schools

    Repurposed school buildings are home to a variety of groups, including artisans, local governments and restaurants. But funding and getting public buy-in for these projects isn’t always easy.

    By Amanda Loudin • Jan. 14, 2025
  • A worker peers out from a worksite in New York City
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    Spencer Platt/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Q&A

    NY mandates contractor registration for publicly funded projects

    Consultant Kathleen Bloss talks about the type of work the law covers and steps that firms must take to comply.

    By Sebastian Obando • Jan. 13, 2025
  • A highway with cars on it in front of a city skyline. Two large cranes line the highway next to new construction.
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    JasonDoiy via Getty Images
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    6 smart cities trends to watch in 2025

    Transportation systems, housing policy and decarbonization approaches will evolve this year as the Trump administration assumes power and technology continues to advance.

    By Ysabelle Kempe , • Jan. 9, 2025
  • Construction site of concrete overpass.
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    Courtesy of California High-Speed Rail Authority
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    5 ways Trump could impact infrastructure construction in 2025

    The incoming administration promises new policies that could affect permits, materials, labor and project funding.

    By Julie Strupp • Jan. 8, 2025
  • Hot desking in coworking office
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    ferrantraite via Getty Images
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    Flexible office space set to rise in 2025: Cushman & Wakefield

    Some companies are leaning into coworking spaces and other flex spaces amid efforts to reimagine cities, the firm says.

    By Joe Burns • Jan. 7, 2025
  • Rendering of new austin light rail stations and train.
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    Courtesy of Austin Transit Partnership
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    $7B all-electric light rail project moves ahead in Austin, Texas

    The Austin Transit Partnership selected a construction team to build the city’s first light rail system, which is set to open in 2033.

    By Julie Strupp • Jan. 6, 2025
  • People walk across a city street at a crosswalk. Tall buildings and streetlights line the road,
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    tunart via Getty Images
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    9 predictions about what 2025 may hold for US cities

    “Playground” cities will thrive, innovative housing programs will proliferate and technology will transform transit and municipal services, these sources say.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff • Jan. 2, 2025
  • Solar panels on top of vegetation on a building roof. Behind the building is another building and trees.
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    Rene Notenbomer via Getty Images
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    ‘Smart surfaces’ policy tracker shows how cities boost green infrastructure, solar, cool pavement

    Local officials can use the over 450 resources in the tracker to develop their own policies, according to Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Smart Surfaces Coalition.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 20, 2024
  • A person in a hat and gloves stands on the wooden beams of home under construction. The person holds a wooden beam.
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    RyanJLane via Getty Images
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    Washington local governments sue to block builder-supported measure favoring natural gas

    Voter-approved I-2066, which prevents the state and local governments from restricting access to natural gas, is unconstitutional, said Seattle, King County and other groups in a lawsuit filed last week.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 19, 2024
  • A man in a red uniform repairing a heat pump.
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    welcomia via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    The key to successfully deploying heat pump water heaters? Funding innovation.

    Small grants allow local organizations to test new technologies and approaches, a vital step in scaling climate solutions. 

    By Chris Badger • Dec. 17, 2024
  • An aerial view of the Manhattan skyline at sunset.
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    Nafiz Rahat via Getty Images
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    92% of large NYC buildings meet 2024 carbon emission limits: report

    Site energy use in buildings over 25,000 square feet dropped for the fifth year in a row, with 43% of buildings set to meet Local Law 97’s stricter 2030 targets, the Urban Green Council says.

    By Nish Amarnath • Dec. 16, 2024
  • Closeup of the hands of two people holding together pipes. One pair of hands holds a tool.
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    BanksPhotos via Getty Images
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    5 community-scale geothermal systems to be built with $35M from DOE

    The projects will demonstrate how communities can leverage energy underground to decarbonize buildings, the Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office says.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Updated Dec. 18, 2024
  • Aerial shot of a city with intermixed buildings, houses, roads and trees.
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    halbergman via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    A Michigan city’s ‘sustainable energy utility’ got the green light from voters. What now?

    By creating a supplemental utility that will focus on scaling up rooftop solar, battery storage and microgrids, Ann Arbor, Michigan, is taking its clean energy future into its own hands.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 10, 2024
  • A street in New York City with pedestrians crossing.
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    Bim via Getty Images
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    The US cities where central business district office vacancy rates are low

    Labor, transportation infrastructure and employee experience are among the factors driving downtown office site selection, experts say.

    By Joe Burns • Dec. 6, 2024
  • An aerial view of the Manhattan skyline at sunset.
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    Nafiz Rahat via Getty Images
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    New York makes $10M available for building heating and cooling tech

    HVAC manufacturers and building owners can use the funds to develop and demonstrate cold-climate heat pumps as the state aims to reduce buildings' on-site energy consumption by 2025.

    By Nish Amarnath • Dec. 3, 2024
  • Aerial view of homes along a wide street. On the street, a truck applies a lighter-colored coating to the pavement. Traffic cones are lined up along the street.
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    Retrieved from City of Phoenix.
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    New group wants to help US cities scale up climate-resilient ‘smart surfaces’

    Exclusive access to data, funding opportunities and model ordinances to expand cool pavement, green surfaces, porous pavement and solar panels will be among the benefits for the peer learning network participants.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 3, 2024
  • People sit on couches in a living room, holding books and laptops.
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    M_a_y_a via Getty Images
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    Seattle encourages co-living housing with new law

    Young people looking to live in popular neighborhoods and retirees seeking community are among those who may be interested in co-living, a Washington state lawmaker said.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Nov. 27, 2024
  • A person in a suit and tie stands behind a partially transparent podium with a microphone attached to it.
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    Ysabelle Kempe/Smart Cities Dive
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    AI could help cities tackle climate change, but only if it solves ‘real problems’: NYC climate chief

    “We don’t need AI or big data to tell us with much greater detail how screwed we are as a city or as a planet,” Rohit Aggarwala said at Cornell Tech’s Urban Tech Summit last week.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Nov. 26, 2024