Metropolis leaders are dealing with large points, with large penalties, in 2026, together with tight budgets, an reasonably priced housing scarcity, climate-related dangers, infrastructure challenges and — for some cities — stress to adjust to federal immigration enforcement operations and different government department mandates. Underlying all this, AI and different rising applied sciences are quickly remodeling mobility, public security and concrete planning, with the promise of improved effectivity alongside privateness, fairness and safety issues.
Technological evolution could also be most tangible in metropolis streets as robotaxis proliferate and air taxis put together for takeoff in Los Angeles this 12 months. However native leaders are working tirelessly on much less seen, however maybe extra existential, alternatives and threats, from zoning and regulatory reform aimed toward accelerating house constructing to authorized fights over makes an attempt to claw again federal funds for resilience and clear vitality.
There have been no uninteresting moments in 2025, and 2026 signifies that the tempo of change is barely accelerating. Under is a roundup of Sensible Cities Dive’s outlooks on what to anticipate this 12 months.
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