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The Rebirth of Baltimore, A Historic Energy Shift, Low-Carbon Concrete Certificates, Vietnam’s New $4B Smart City

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Editorial Staff
October 13, 2025

 

Here’s our latest roundup of the news and trends shaping the future of cities and urban development.

You Should Know

  • A historic turning point for humanity: renewable energy has surpassed coal to become the world’s largest source of electricity (no thanks to the USA and Europe). Read the details in our Top Stories section below.

  • Energy infrastructure is one the main battlegrounds in the Ukraine-Russia war. Ukraine’s power system is operating at roughly one-third of its pre-invasion generation capacity, according to the Brookings Institution. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of Russia’s refinery capacity now lies idle, reports Harvard Kennedy School.

  • The U.S. Department of Energy is eyeing deeper cuts to clean-energy projects. The department has already officially canceled about $7.6 billion in funding across 223 projects, and a leaked DOE spreadsheet reviewed by the WSJ suggests that up to an additional $24 billion in funding will be cut.

Worth Watching

Top Stories

The Rebirth of Baltimore: A Bold Vision for Urban Renewal

Baltimore is undertaking one of the most sweeping urban revitalization efforts ever attempted by a major U.S. city.

At the heart of this transformation is a $6 billion community reinvestment plan that will overhaul more than 65,000 vacant or at-risk properties over the next 15 years. Rather than scattered projects, the strategy focuses on block-level revitalization, not individual buildings—pairing housing investment with upgraded infrastructure, green spaces, and commercial corridors.

Backed by $1.2 billion in public commitments and an expected $5 billion in private financing, the program marks the largest housing redevelopment initiative in the nation.

The initiative builds on the success of ReBUILD Metro, which invested $125 million in East Baltimore, restored over 500 properties, and cut vacancy by 90 percent without displacing residents.

The State of Maryland has pledged $900 million toward housing and neighborhood reinvestment, while the City of Baltimore will contribute $300 million through its first tax increment financing program, bringing projected public funding to $3 billion over 15 years.

Private investment will play a central role. Forsyth Street Advisors designed a capital strategy featuring tools like shared-appreciation mortgages and rental loans for small developers.

Just a few miles away, another landmark transformation is taking shape along the waterfront. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor—the city’s premier tourist destination and economic centerpiece—is preparing for a $1 billion redevelopment of Harborplace, led by MCB Real Estate

Once celebrated as a national model for urban renewal, Harborplace opened in 1980 under The Rouse Company. But after decades of success, the property declined under subsequent ownership.

The plan replaces the aging twin pavilions with a mixed-use complex of four new buildings across 4.5 acres, designed by Gensler Baltimore. It will feature 900 apartments, 400,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, a 50,000-square-foot rooftop park, and a 2,000-seat amphitheater.

The city’s renewal story is adding even more chapters. In addition to these efforts, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott just unveiled Downtown RISE: A Master Plan for Downtown, a long-term framework to revitalize the city’s core into a more livable, walkable, and vibrant district. The plan includes both medium-term actions—covering critical projects, investments, and strategies—and a 10-year comprehensive vision to guide downtown’s transformation.

The World Crosses a Historic Energy Threshold: Renewables Surpass Coal

For the first time in history, renewable energy has overtaken coal as the world’s largest source of electricity. In the first half of 2025, wind and solar farms generated more power than coal plants, according to new data from the energy think tank Ember—a milestone that marks a historic shift in the global energy landscape.

To be clear, coal remains the largest single source of global electricity generation, though its share is steadily declining. Renewables as a group—including solar, wind, hydro, and others—collectively surpassed coal for the first time in 2025.

No surprise: global electricity demand rose this year. However, growth in solar and wind was strong enough to meet 100% of that additional demand, even slightly reducing coal and gas use. Solar alone supplied 83% of all new global electricity generation, marking its third consecutive year as the world’s largest source of new power.

China led the clean-energy surge, adding more solar and wind capacity than the rest of the world combined. Despite continuing to expand its fleet of coal-fired power stations, China cut fossil fuel generation by 2%. India also moved decisively toward renewables, with slower demand growth and a wave of new solar and wind capacity reducing its dependence on coal and gas.

The trend was reversed in wealthier regions. The United States and the European Union both saw increases in fossil fuel use for power generation—driven by rising demand and, in Europe’s case, weaker wind and hydropower conditions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has since halved its forecast for new U.S. renewable capacity this decade—from 500 gigawatts to 250 gigawatts—citing the policies of the Trump administration.

Developing countries are now driving solar’s global ascent. About 58% of solar generation now comes from lower-income nations, where costs have plunged 99.9% since 1975—making national rollouts achievable in a single year. Africa’s solar imports climbed 60% year over year, with Nigeria reaching 1.7 gigawatts of capacity—enough to power 1.8 million European homes. Algeria, Zambia, and Botswana saw multifold increases in solar installations.

Meanwhile, China’s dominance in clean technology continues to expand. In August 2025, its clean-tech exports hit a record $20 billion, led by electric vehicles (up 26%) and batteries (up 23%)—together worth more than double its solar-panel exports.

A Market Solution to Decarbonize the World’s Most Used Material

Concrete is the world’s most widely used human-made material, and demand continues to soar as the world urbanizes. At its core lies cement—the binding agent that holds together the sand and gravel that give the material its strength. The world produces about 4.2 billion tons of cement each year, making it one of the most heavily manufactured products on the planet.

Cement production generates about 8% of global CO₂ emissions—more than the entire aviation industry—and rivals the annual output of a major industrial nation. This massive footprint stems from both the fossil fuels burned to heat kilns to 1,450°C and the chemical reaction that releases CO₂ from limestone during clinker production.

Despite broad awareness of its emissions problem, low-carbon concrete alternatives have been slow to scale, and carbon capture technologies remain prohibitively expensive. Frustrated by the pace of progress, major corporate buyers—including Amazon, Meta, and Prologis—have joined forces with others to form the Sustainable Concrete Buyers Alliance (SCoBA), led by RMI and the Center for Green Market Activation.

SCoBA is developing a book and claim system modeled after renewable energy certificates (RECs) in the power sector. When a wind or solar plant produces clean electricity, it generates both power for the grid and a certificate proving that clean energy was made. Companies can buy these certificates to show support for renewables, even if the electricity they use comes from fossil fuels—financially backing clean energy production wherever it occurs.

SCoBA applies the same concept to building materials. When a producer manufactures low-carbon concrete, it also creates a certificate representing the climate benefit of that cleaner process. Companies can purchase those certificates even if they don’t take physical delivery of the specific batch of low-carbon concrete. By doing so, they support low-carbon production, fund sustainable factories, and drive investment in cleaner cement technologies.

According to RMI, this initiative “creates the market conditions for breakthrough low-carbon cement innovations to scale.” The first competitive procurement process will begin later this year, connecting alliance members with producers through requests for information already underway.

Vietnam Unveils $4.2 Billion Smart City Project

A new smart city will soon rise in Hanoi. Backed by a $4.2 billion investment, the North Hanoi Smart City is being developed by a joint venture between Vietnam’s BRG Group and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation.

The city will span a 272-hectare site in the Dong Anh district of northern Hanoi, about 10 km from downtown. Designed as a modern financial and commercial hub, the project aims to become a new symbol of Hanoi’s sustainable growth. At its core will stand a 108-story Financial Tower, envisioned as a landmark for Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

The development will be carried out in five phases. The first phase, beginning next year, will include the construction of approximately 7,000 apartments and homes—laying the foundation for a vibrant residential and business district.

Built around six “smart pillars”—energy, governance, living, health & learning, mobility, and economy—the city will integrate advanced digital and environmental systems to enhance residents’ quality of life.

Real-time environmental monitoring will guide its operations, ensuring efficient energy use and supporting its goal of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral urban area. The project also adopts a transit-oriented development model, featuring a planned metro station and rail extension to Noi Bai International Airport to promote sustainable mobility.

Blending modern innovation with cultural identity, North Hanoi Smart City will feature cherry-blossom-lined boulevards, green waterways, and expansive public spaces. According to BRG Group, the project embodies both “prosperity and sustainability,” aligning Vietnam’s urban ambitions with global climate goals.

Once complete, the North Hanoi Smart City is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs, attract international expertise, and set a new benchmark for carbon-neutral, tech-enabled urban living across Southeast Asia.

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