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  • Toyota’s City of the Future Launches, $100B for Even More Data Centers, Smart Parking, Convention Center Envy

Toyota’s City of the Future Launches, $100B for Even More Data Centers, Smart Parking, Convention Center Envy

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Editorial Staff
September 29, 2025

 

Here are the latest major stories and trends that are writing the next chapter of urban development.

You Should Know

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  • In 2025, the U.S. is projected to deliver more than 500,000 new apartments—slightly below last year’s record, but still well above historical averages—with more than half of the new units concentrated in the South, especially in Texas and Florida, according to RentCafe.

  • The Panama Canal forecasts a $3.2 billion profit in its 2026 budget, which was just approved by the country's legislature. The canal's management said it expects fewer transits next year due to global economic instability.

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Toyota’s City of the Future Officially Launches

Toyota has officially opened the first section of Woven City, a $10 billion “living laboratory” at the base of Mt. Fuji that will serve as a real-world testbed for next-generation technologies. Conceived in 2020, the project represents Toyota’s boldest step yet in exploring how autonomous mobility, robotics, AI, renewable energy, and smart homes can be integrated into daily life.

Two groups of residents are establishing the Woven City community: “Inventors” and “Weavers.” Inventors include startups, enterprises, universities, and research institutions using the city as a platform to test and refine products. Their work builds on Toyota’s manufacturing expertise and Woven by Toyota’s software capabilities, guided by the Japanese principle of Kakezan—multiplication through collaboration.

Among the 20 Inventors confirmed, singer-songwriter Naoto Inti Raymi adds a creative dimension by composing the Woven City Anthem and audio logo, underscoring that experimentation extends beyond mobility into culture and design.

Weavers, by contrast, are the residents and visitors who experience innovations firsthand and provide feedback. Toyota employees and their families have become the first Weavers, with about 300 residents moving into the city during Phase 1. General visitors are expected to be welcomed in 2026, giving the wider public a chance to experience emerging technologies in a live urban environment.

Woven City has been meticulously designed to foster mobility innovation. Streets are “woven” together in three layers: one for autonomous vehicles, one for bicycles and scooters, and one exclusively for pedestrians.

Twelve Toyota Group companies and several external firms are contributing to Woven City’s early initiatives. Daikin Industries, for example, is testing air purification systems designed to remove pollen. Kyoritsu Seiyaku Corporation is developing new approaches to improve human-pet coexistence. DyDo Drinco, Inc. is exploring innovative vending machine concepts. Meanwhile, Toyota has introduced a self-driving robot equipped with lidar sensors and cameras to move cars to designated spots.

Woven City’s launch marks a milestone in Toyota’s evolution from automaker to mobility innovator. Site preparation for Phase 2 is underway, with the city ultimately expected to accommodate about 2,000 residents.

A $100B Pledge: NVIDIA to Fund OpenAI’s Infrastructur

We’ve grown almost numb to billion-dollar data center announcements, but last week’s news from NVIDIA and OpenAI cut through the noise.

The two companies are committing to one of the largest infrastructure investments in the history of AI: a plan to deploy at least 10 gigawatts (GW) of NVIDIA-powered data centers for OpenAI’s next generation of models. NVIDIA is not only supplying hardware but also stepping in as a financial partner, pledging up to $100 billion in phased investment as each gigawatt of systems comes online.

The scale is unprecedented. Ten gigawatts of AI compute equals the continuous output of about ten utility-scale nuclear reactors. OpenAI will rely on millions of NVIDIA GPUs to train and operate future models, with the first 1 GW block scheduled for the second half of 2026 on NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin platform. Both companies stress that the new infrastructure will serve not just research but also large-scale adoption of AI across businesses and daily life.

At this level, power engineering drives everything. A 100 MW campus typically requires its own high-voltage substation with dual feeds; scale that to 10 GW and the result is dozens to hundreds of substations and ring-bus configurations, each stepping transmission down to medium-voltage across the site. Lengthy interconnection queues—often five years in congested markets—make phasing, grid funding, and locating near existing transmission lines critical to keeping the timeline on track.

Cooling adds another layer of complexity. Medium to large facilities can consume tens of millions to billions of gallons of water annually, pushing operators toward dry or hybrid systems and alternative water sources.

OpenAI has already grown to more than 700 million weekly active users and works closely with Microsoft, Oracle, SoftBank, and others on Project Stargate, a $500 billion U.S. data center program. By naming NVIDIA its preferred compute and networking partner, OpenAI is committing to co-develop hardware and software roadmaps to push the boundaries of AI.

This partnership highlights not only the extraordinary costs of building AI infrastructure but also the deep interdependence between chipmakers and AI developers.

Smart Parking Turns an Urban Problem into a Big Market

Finding a parking spot is a daily frustration in crowded cities, but the global smart parking industry is scaling up quickly to solve the problem. Valued at nearly $9 billion in 2024, the sector is projected to surpass $50 billion in market size by 2033, according to Renub Research.

Analysts estimate that over 120 million vehicles worldwide are currently connected to smart parking apps, reducing the time spent searching for parking by 30–40%.

Smart parking integrates IoT sensors, license plate recognition, cameras, and real-time analytics to guide drivers directly to open spots. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, smart parking systems can reduce urban congestion by up to 25% and cut emissions by 20–30%.

For cities and private operators, the payoff comes through better space utilization, lower costs, and more reliable revenue streams. As electric vehicles spread and urban populations climb demand for smarter parking infrastructure is accelerating.

Here are three notable smart parking initiatives around the world:

  • Hong Kong – In partnership with Arrive, the city rolled out 11,000 digital meters to manage 20,000 parking spaces, paired with the HKeMeter app. The system gives drivers live bay availability. Motorists can extend sessions remotely and receive guidance to open spaces, cutting the time spent circling for parking. To boost public trust, live availability data is also published on the city’s open data portal (data.gov.hk).

  • Santander – The city embedded more than 300 wireless sensors to monitor parking lots, feeding the data into a machine learning model that forecasts space availability. This predictive approach improves reliability compared to real-time monitoring alone. Citizens can check forecasts through a mobile app, giving them confidence before they set out.

  • Singapore – Singapore’s GoParkin smart car park is built as a ticketless, barrier-free system on cloud-based IoT architecture. Automatic license plate recognition and video analytics allow vehicles to enter and exit without physical tickets. A companion app provides real-time occupancy updates and links to EV charging and digital payments.

Our Convention Center Is Bigger Than Yours

Across the globe, municipal leaders are racing to expand convention centers, each one promising to outdo the last in size. Cities argue that these venues act as economic engines: weeklong expos fill hotels, restaurants, and shops. Even if venues lose money, supporters say the wider ripple effect often justifies the cost.

Mega-convention centers require enormous investment. The Dubai Exhibition Centre, for example, is undergoing an expansion estimated at $2.7 billion. Financing these billion-dollar projects usually blends public and private sources. Cities float municipal bonds, often backed by hotel occupancy taxes. Additionally, states may provide subsidies, while developers and hospitality operators join through public-private ventures.

The U.S. is scaling up multiple billion-dollar projects. A few days ago, Los Angeles greenlit a $2.6 billion modernization of its convention center, adding 190,000 sq ft of exhibit space. The center features an impressive architectural feature: a 325,000 sq ft structure built over Pico Boulevard to physically connect the conference halls. In Texas, convention center envy fuels competition: Austin is demolishing and rebuilding its facility as “Unconventional ATX,” nearly doubling rentable space to 620,000 sq feet in a $1.6 billion project set to open in 2029. Dallas is advancing its Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center master plan, a $3.7 billion project expected to deliver 2.1 million sq ft.

Asia is pushing even bigger projects. The Philippine International Exhibition Center, under construction, will span nearly 269,000 sq meters in a $1.8 billion effort to create Southeast Asia’s largest exhibition hub. Vietnam’s National Exhibition & Convention Center will cover 90 hectares, including 130,000 sq meters of halls alongside parks, hotels, and offices, with investment reported above $300 million. In Beijing, Phase II of the China National Convention Center will add 420,000 sq meters of new function space beside the Olympic Green, making it one of the world’s largest convention complexes.

Yet grand visions face hard realities. Conference activity peaked at $139 billion in 2019, according to the U.S. Travel Association, and has since declined. Moreover, most of 175 centers in the U.S. operate at a loss—casting doubt on whether the promised economic returns ever materialize.

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