Cement “breathes in” and stores millions of tons of CO₂ a year

Dec 18, 2025

Image credit to MIT News

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How cement “breathes in” and stores millions of tons of CO₂ a year

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New analysis provides the first national, bottom-up estimate of cement’s natural carbon dioxide uptake across buildings and infrastructure.

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Andrew Paul Laurent | MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub

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Low-altitude aerial photo of buildings in Manhattan at twilight

The world’s most common construction material has a secret. Cement, the “glue” that holds concrete together, gradually “breathes in” and stores millions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air over the lifetimes of buildings and infrastructure.

A new study from the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub quantifies this process, carbon uptake, at a national scale for the first time. Using a novel approach, the research team found that the cement in U.S. buildings and infrastructure sequesters over 6.5 million metric tons of CO₂ annually. This corresponds to roughly 13 percent of the process emissions — the CO₂ released by the underlying chemical reaction — in U.S. cement manufacturing. In Mexico, the same building stock sequesters about 5 million tons a year.

But how did the team come up with those numbers?

Scientists have known how carbon uptake works for decades. CO₂ enters concrete or mortar — the mixture that glues together blocks, brick, and stones — through tiny pores, reacts with the calcium-rich products in cement, and becomes locked into a stable mineral called calcium carbonate, or limestone.

The chemistry is well-known, but calculating the magnitude of this at scale is not. A concrete highway in Dallas sequesters CO₂ differently than Mexico City apartments made from concrete masonry units (CMUs), also called concrete blocks or, colloquially, cinder blocks. And a foundation slab buried under the snow in Fairbanks, Alaska, “breathes in” CO₂ at a different pace entirely.

As Hessam AzariJafari, lead author and research scientist in the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, explains, “Carbon uptake is very sensitive to context. Four major factors drive it: the type of cement used, the product we make with it — concrete, CMUs, or mortar — the geometry of the structure, and the climate and conditions it’s exposed to. Even within the same structure, uptake can vary five-fold between different elements.”

As no two structures sequester CO₂ in the same way, estimating uptake nationwide would normally require simulating an array of cement-based elements: slabs, walls, beams, columns, pavements, and more. On top of that, each of those has its own age, geometry, mixture, and exposure condition to account for.

Seeing that this approach would be like trying to count every grain of sand on a beach, the team took a different route. They developed hundreds of archetypes, typical designs that could stand in for different buildings and pieces of infrastructure. It’s a bit like measuring the beach instead by mapping out its shape, depth, and shoreline to estimate how much sand usually sits in a given spot.

With these archetypes in hand, the team modeled how each one sequesters CO₂ in different environments and how common each is across every state in the United States and Mexico. In this way, they could estimate not just how much CO₂ structures sequester, but why those numbers differ.

Two factors stood out. The first was the “construction trend,” or how the amount of new construction had changed over the previous five years. Because it reflects how quickly cement products are being added to the building stock, it shapes how much cement each state consumes and, therefore, how much of that cement is actively carbonating. The second was the ratio of mortar to concrete, since porous mortars sequester CO₂ an order of magnitude faster than denser concrete.

In states where mortar use was higher, the fraction of CO₂ uptake relative to process emissions was noticeably greater. “We observed something unique about Mexico: Despite using half the cement that the U.S. does, the country has three-quarters of the uptake,” notes AzariJafari. “This is because Mexico makes more use of mortars and lower-strength concrete, and bagged cement mixed on-site. These practices are why their uptake sequesters about a quarter of their cement manufacturing emissions.”

While care must be taken for structural elements that use steel reinforcement, as uptake can accelerate corrosion, it’s possible to enhance the uptake of many elements without negative impacts.

Randolph Kirchain, director of the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, principal research scientist in the MIT Materials Research Laboratory, and the senior author of this study, explains: “For instance, increasing the amount of surface area exposed to air accelerates uptake and can be achieved by foregoing painting or tiling, or choosing designs like waffle slabs with a higher surface area-to-volume ratio. Additionally, avoiding unnecessarily stronger, less-porous concrete mixtures than required would speed up uptake while using less cement.”

“There is a real opportunity to refine how carbon uptake from cement is represented in national inventories,” AzariJafari comments. “The buildings around us and the concrete beneath our feet are constantly ‘breathing in’ millions of tons of CO₂. Nevertheless, some of the simplified values in widely used reporting frameworks can lead to higher estimates than what we observe empirically. Integrating updated science into international inventories and guidelines such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) would help ensure that reported numbers reflect the material and temporal realities of the sector.”

By offering the first rigorous, bottom-up estimation of carbon uptake at a national scale, the team’s work provides a more representative picture of cement’s environmental impact. As we work to decarbonize the built environment, understanding what our structures are already doing in the background may be just as important as the innovations we pursue moving forward. The approach developed by MIT researchers could be extended to other countries by combining global building-stock databases with national cement-production statistics. It could also inform the design of structures that safely maximize uptake.

The findings were published Dec. 15 in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Joining AzariJafari and Kirchain on the paper are MIT researchers Elizabeth Moore of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the MIT Climate Project and former postdocs Ipek Bensu Manav SM ’21, PhD ’24 and Motahareh Rahimi, along with Bruno Huet and Christophe Levy from the Holcim Innovation Center in France.

How science can strengthen the sustainable development agenda

Dec 16, 2025

Image above by Pavel Danilyuk via Pexels

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Global experts come together to map how science can strengthen the sustainable development agenda beyond 2030

Monash University

16 December 2025

As governments and policy-makers prepare to consider what the global sustainable development agenda will look like after the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reach their target year of 2030, the joint MSDI and Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) project, “Thought leadership for a post-2030 sustainable development agenda,” is working to mobilise scientific support to strengthen this important process.

Following a successful first workshop in Indonesia in 2024, some 30 of the world’s top academic and policy experts on governance for the SDGs came together in Stockholm on 10-11 December 2025 for the second workshop, “Pathways to Impact”, to deepen understanding of the needs of policy makers, explore how science can support the post-2030 process, and identify opportunities for collaboration.

The workshop started with an open Science-Policy Dialogue, featuring senior academics, policymakers, and UN officials, on the knowledge demand and needs for the upcoming post-2030 process, and how science can support this process.

The Dialogue included a keynote presentation by Csaba Kőrösi, 77th President of the UN General Assembly and the co-convenor of the UN Open Working Group that designed the SDGs, who shared reflections and recommendations on how to bring science into the UN processes from his extensive experience.

Dr Cameron Allen, Senior Research Fellow at MSDI and co-lead of the project, also gave a presentation on what science knows about the successes and shortfalls of 2030 Agenda implementation. This work built on the outcomes of the first workshop and will soon be released in the prestigious journal Science.

The workshop continued with a mix of thematic working group sessions and plenary discussions to connect insights across different areas of expertise, facilitated by Cameron, Associate Professor Shirin Malekpour and their project lead colleagues at SEI, Nina Weitz and Therese Bennich.

Throughout the two days, participants worked together to identify opportunities for scientific research to strengthen the post-2030 negotiations process, develop ideas for research projects and activities, map opportunities for collaboration, and outline potential joint outputs and next steps for the thought leadership process.

The main topics considered included revisions or additions to the Sustainable Development Goals, improving accountability and reporting, finance for sustainable development, and strengthening the involvement of civil society and other actors in the post-2030 process.

The program also provided space for informal exchange and networking to strengthen relationships that can support future work.

An outcome report from the workshop is expected to be published in 2026. In addition, the work will be complemented by a new ARC Discovery project led by Shirin, on driving effective goal-based governance for the SDGs.

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The race for renewables in the Middle East and North Africa

Dec 15, 2025

Dramatic sunset view of the iconic Giza Pyramids in Egypt, highlighting their ancient architecture. By Thais Cordeiro via Pexels

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The race for renewables in the Middle East and North Africa

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By Ellen Clarke, Research Analyst for the Middle East Programme

In the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

15 December 2025

Behind the rush in the MENA region to develop renewable-energy capacity is the continued exploitation of fossil fuels to achieve economic growth amid worsening climate pressures on agriculture and water. Economic security, not reduction of emissions, is at the core of this expansion of states’ energy supplies.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is finally waking up to the imperative of renewable energy. Although the region has lagged behind the rest of the world in developing its infrastructure, surging investments in renewables will see over four times the existing capacity installed in the MENA by 2030. Nevertheless, not all countries are equally equipped to diversify and secure their energy supply to meet the soaring demand driven by rising temperatures. While Saudi Arabia has set itself the target of adding 20 gigawatts (GW) of renewable-energy capacity annually and of reaching 130 GW by 2030, other countries beset by conflict, political instability, or corruption are struggling to keep pace and adapt to climate pressures.

The economic incentives behind renewable-energy strategies

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has increased its forecast for renewable-capacity growth in the MENA by 25% over the next five years, the largest regional upgrade globally. But the year-to-year uptick in projects reflects incentives for diversification that go beyond carbon-emission concerns. The effects of climate change on MENA soil and water systems pose an acute threat to the region’s agriculture, food security, and, therefore, economies. In this context, renewables are better seen as an adaptation tool to provide the additional energy security needed to maintain agricultural production and water supplies, rather than as a system-wide energy transition away from polluting fuels.

Saudi Arabia’s ambition to finance gigawatt-scale scale renewable projects to achieve 50% renewable-energy generation by 2030 exemplifies the wider petrostate strategy of using revenues from fossil-fuel exports to secure domestic energy supply for future growth. The success of its broader technology-driven modernisation strategy, including the ambitious development of energy- and water-intensive data centres, is underpinned by energy expansion. Renewable investments are necessary to prevent potential resource constraints on other critical sectors as a consequence of this modernisation, such as Saudi Arabia’s efforts to create a self-sufficient agri-food industry. Current rates of worsening water scarcity anticipate the kingdom will face a 65% reduction in agricultural production from today’s levels by 2050, the most significant projected losses in the region, followed by Yemen (35%) and Syria (13%). As of 2023, public energy was used for irrigation in 44.7% of Saudi Arabia’s agricultural land, 98% of which was powered by water-intensive diesel. In addition to other technological industrial advancements, a shift towards renewable-powered groundwater pumping, desalination, or wastewater treatment, as well as still-necessary large-scale food imports, will all require extensive funding. Maximising hydrocarbon export revenue by reducing domestic energy usage is a key component of Saudi Arabia’s strategic growth.

As a non-hydrocarbon economy and net energy importer, Morocco’s Green Generation 2020-2030 initiative is rooted in an understanding of the urgent economic vulnerabilities of the food–water–energy nexus. Given that the agricultural sector employs roughly 40% of the country’s workforce, Morocco’s nearly 24 GW renewable-energy development pipeline sits alongside a US$45 billion National Water Plan 2020–-2050 to ensure food-system resilience through renewable-powered desalination plants. Moreover, the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water has sought to integrate its fertiliser-manufacturing value chain with green hydrogen production and expand renewable-pumped hydropower storage, decreasing its vulnerability to supply-chain volatility.

Political obstacles to renewables in the region

For others in the region, conflict, political instability, and financial mismanagement have prevented foreign investment and the development of utility-scale renewable energy projects. In Iraq, the severe summer temperatures directly resulting from global warming, and the accompanying need for air-conditioning, regularly cause complete grid failure. Yet corruption, protracted negotiations and lack of political will have prevented financial investment into renewable-energy projects and grid storage. In Lebanon, finding investors for the Akkar wind farms has also been obstructed for years due to debt defaults and a lack of economic reform. To cope with daily power shortages, household installations of off-grid, rooftop solar panels have proliferated.

Egypt has made material steps to overcome such barriers, as it also deals with temperature-induced blackouts. Subsidy reforms and foreign-debt repayments have strengthened its exchange rate and begun to rehabilitate Egypt’s investor climate, prompting a series of announcements over the last year regarding renewable-energy expansion and grid rehabilitation. But for other countries, ongoing violence derails the development of renewables despite available international funding. Palestinian renewable-energy projects have long been undermined by Israel’s systematic denial of infrastructure permits in the West Bank in favour of illegal settlements. As Israel is geographically limited in developing sufficient landmass of its own for energy diversification at scale, it has gone as far as destroying and confiscating solar panels (part of projects funded by the European Union) in Area C. This is the only land available for Palestinian utility infrastructure, and thereby sustains Palestinian dependency on Israeli gas.

Supply-chain threats to renewable-energy security

The race to develop renewables infrastructure, including necessary power-grid rehabilitation and battery technologies, is now under pressure from rapidly depleting resources of required critical minerals within the supply chain, such as copper and lithium. The vulnerability of the MENA’s slow start to diversification contrasts with China’s first-mover advantage, with Chinese-dominated value chains now factored into national renewable-energy-development strategies in the region. China is the largest manufacturer and market for renewables, and will account for up to 60% of global deployment over the next ten years. Critically, China is the dominant refiner for 19 out of 20 energy-related strategic minerals, with an average market share of around 70%. Given the IEA estimates that, even in the highest production scenarios, the world will face a 30% supply shortfall for copper by 2035 if all national climate commitments are met, states with structural barriers to diversification risk being left behind.

Tightening Chinese export controls, including on the use of renewable technology, is leading states with sufficient capital to invest in localising segments of their value chains. Essential technologies for baseload electricity supply, such as the mega-capacity battery energy-storage systems (BESS) at Egypt’s Red Sea wind farm and Abydos II solar plants, are predominantly electrochemical, using lithium. In December 2024, Saudi Arabia announced its first successful extraction from oilfield brine, with plans to begin producing lithium by 2027. Similarly, multiple countries in the region are in severe need of electrical-grid rehabilitation. Jordan had implemented a ban on new utility-scale renewable-energy developments between 2019 and 2024 due to grid limitations. Since lifting the ban, the government has faced heightened pressure to restart mining limited copper reserves within a protected nature reserve, despite the country’s severe water scarcity and issues of wastewater pollution.

The vicious cycle of continued fossil-fuel dependency

The underlying approach to developing renewable-energy capacity in the region is ultimately geopolitical and economic, not environmental. With over 30% of the world’s oil supplied by the region, energy has always determined the geopolitical leverage, regional influence, and political economy of MENA states. They are set to protect this global posture, as reflected by the energy-security strategies set out in the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), held in November. Although supply chain security was high on the conference’s agenda, MENA states resisted the phasing out of fossil fuels. Natural gas and oil still comprised 90% of electricity generation in the MENA in 2024. Alongside 50% growth in forecasted electricity demand by 2035, the rapid expansion of renewable-energy capacity in the region and proportional electricity-generation targets do not necessarily equal a reduction in fossil-fuel production.

The race to diversify energy is generating unsustainable pressure on the supply chains of critical minerals. These rates of resource consumption risk leaving behind states in the region with insufficient political and financial capital to invest in future-proof energy infrastructure. Depleted water and food systems, resulting from continued dependency on fossil fuels, will exacerbate energy demand and limit the capacity of MENA economies to adapt to an increasingly uninhabitable region. Although scaling renewable-energy capacity is necessary, it will be insufficient without a shift in focus towards mitigation and a full energy transition to exit this vicious cycle.

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10 Futuristic Cities Set to be Built in The Coming Years

Dec 15, 2025

Toyota Woven City © BIG

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10 Futuristic Cities Set to be Built in The Coming Years Around The World

Sümeyye Okumus in Parametric Architecture

December 14, 2025

Architecture & Design

Global challenges, such as the housing crisis and climate change, have led to the unprecedented design of large-scale, master-planned, high-tech cities over the past two decades. New futuristic cities, built across many parts of the world, particularly in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, are attempts to create a relatively self-sufficient urban space geographically distinct from existing cities. Unlike extensions of existing urban centers, these purpose-built cities are autonomous entities that develop their own identities while offering a range of opportunities that make them attractive to the private sector.

For developing economies, futuristic cities present a chance to stimulate growth, gain global visibility, and even redefine national identities. Computer-generated visualizations used in their design depict utopian visions of smart “eco-cities” that promise a more modern and prosperous future.

In this article, we examine 10 futuristic cities planned for construction around the world in the coming years:

1. Telosa

Location: USA
Architect: BIG

Designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels for Marc Lore, Telosa, a city designed for a population of five million, is being designed with a new urban concept in the United States. Built from scratch on a 150,000-acre vacant lot in the Andes desert, this city will set a global standard for urban living in the United States, expanding human potential and becoming a model for future generations.

The first phase of the project, expected to be completed by 2030, will serve 50,000 residents, with the full development projected to host five million people by 2050. Positioned as a purpose-built city, Telosa offers a long-term vision that combines ecological resilience, technological systems, and an alternative governance model, creating a potential prototype for future urban development. Its urban design emphasizes accessibility and public space, placing schools, workplaces, and essential services according to the principles of the 15-minute city model. Mobility relies on bicycles, scooters, autonomous electric vehicles, and a Sky Tram network.

By combining renewable energy production, drought-resistant water systems, and environmentally friendly architecture, Telosa aims to create a framework for sustainable and equitable urban living. Located at the heart of the futuristic city, a wooden skyscraper called Equtism Tower is a landmark and a symbol of the city’s proposed economic model. Featuring aeroponic farms, photovoltaic roofs, and water-storage systems, the tower embodies the principle of Equitism, which ensures that land ownership and urban growth are structured to benefit all residents.

2. BiodiverCity

Location: Malaysia
Architect: BIG

Proposed by BIG in collaboration with Ramboll and Hijjas, the BiodiverCity master plan for the Penang South Islands is envisioned as a sustainable destination where cultural, ecological, and economic growth are secured, and where people live in harmony with nature in one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. Encompassing 1,821 hectares, this master plan aims to connect three artificial islands with an autonomous transportation network. Each island, modeled after a lotus leaf, will comprise mixed-use neighborhoods, 4.6 kilometers of public beaches, 242 hectares of parks, and a 25-kilometer coastline.

Each island district is planned to accommodate between 15,000 and 18,000 residents, while much of BiodiverCity’s construction will use a combination of bamboo, Malaysian timber, and “green concrete” made with recycled materials. Relying on local water resources, renewable energy, and waste management, BiodiverCity will be connected by an autonomous water, air, and land transportation network, creating a car-free environment. A network of ecological corridors, called buffers, ranging from 50 to 100 meters, will be located around the buildings and neighborhoods, serving as nature reserves and parks to support biodiversity.

In the master plan, the first island, called The Channels, will include Civic Heart, an area hosting government and research institutions, as well as the Culture Coast, a district inspired by the state capital, George Town. A 200-hectare digital park located at the heart of the island will invite locals and visitors to explore the world of technology, robotics, and virtual reality. BiodiveCity’s second island, Mongrovers, will house Bamboo Beacon, a facility for conferences and large events. The final island, Laguna, described by BIG as a miniature archipelago, comprises eight smaller islands arranged around a central marina.

3. Toyota Woven City

Location: Japan
Architect: BIG

Designed by BIG for Toyota as the “mobility of the future,” the smart city Woven City is located on the former 70-hectare site of Toyota Motor East Japan’s Higashi-Fuji Plant in Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture, near the foothills of Mount Fuji. Designed as a living laboratory to test and develop mobility, autonomy, connectivity, hydrogen-powered infrastructure, and industrial collaboration, this futuristic city is a 175-acre cluster. The project aims to create a close-knit human community within a defined environment and proposes a connected city that establishes a new balance between vehicles, alternative mobility modes, people, and nature, envisioning a carbon-neutral society.

Toyota Woven City is shaped around three core concepts: a living laboratory, a people-centric and continuously evolving city, and a woven city. This intersection of social infrastructure, mobility, and people offers innovators, residents, and visitors a unique opportunity to seamlessly interact with new technologies throughout daily life in an environment that mimics a real city.

Powered by solar energy, geothermal energy, and hydrogen fuel-cell technology, the city establishes a flexible street network dedicated to various mobility speeds to ensure safer, pedestrian-friendly connections. The traditional road system is disrupted, dividing public space into three entities: a main street for faster autonomous vehicles, a recreational promenade for micromobility types, and finally, a linear park dedicated to people and nature.

Designed with a 150-meter-wide woven grid plan, the 3×3 city blocks of Woven City each encircle a courtyard accessible solely through the promenade or linear park. Expected to house 2,000 people, the city’s mostly timber-built houses feature rooftop solar panels, while apartments are designed to provide residents with access to impressive terraces.

4. New Administrative Capital

Location: Egypt
Architect: SOM

Constructed on a 700 km² site approximately 45 kilometers east of Cairo, Egypt’s New Capital was designed by SOM to suit the region’s cultural and climatic conditions. Designed to address the country’s growing population density, traffic congestion, and environmental challenges, this futuristic city’s master plan will support a growing economy while also creating a sustainable city.

Designed to accommodate a population of seven million, the New Administrative Capital will ease Cairo’s rising population pressure by organizing the new urban district into commercial, administrative, cultural, and innovation zones. The city offers 100 unique residential housing opportunities, ranging from medium to high density, shaped by climate conditions. Passive cooling will be provided by natural ventilation, and local plant species will be used in the landscaping.

The new city, characterized by its compact urban form, replicates some of Cairo’s existing development patterns. Surrounded by a central public space housing shops, schools, religious buildings, and other functions, each neighborhood not only enhances accessibility but also reflects the neighborhood’s identity, drawing inspiration from the area’s traditional settlement patterns. Complementing Egypt’s national vision for a new renaissance, the New Administrative Capital represents a rare opportunity for citizens to express their aspirations for a better quality of life for all.

5. Amaravati

Location: India
Architect: Foster + Partners

Designed by Foster + Partners, the city of Amaravati is planned as the new capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. This futuristic city, located on the banks of the Krishna River and spanning 217 kilometers, is strategically positioned to benefit from abundant freshwater resources and is poised to become one of the world’s most sustainable cities.

The Amaravati master plan includes the design of two major buildings: the Legislative Assembly and the High Court complex, along with several secretariat buildings that will house the state administrative offices. The government complex, measuring 5.5 x 1 kilometers, is located at the heart of the city and is defined by a strong urban grid that structures the city. A clearly defined green spine, with at least 60% of the area covered by greenery or water, forms the foundation of the master plan’s environmental strategy.

Designed to the highest sustainability standards using the latest technologies currently being developed in India, the city’s transportation strategy includes electric vehicles, water taxis, and dedicated bicycle paths, as well as shaded streets and squares to encourage people to walk around the city.

South of the riverfront lies a mixed-use neighborhood centered around 13 urban plazas, symbolizing the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh. A democratic and cultural landmark, the Legislative Assembly building is located at the center of the green spine and is surrounded by the secretariat and cultural institutions. Based on Vaastu principles, the square-plan building has a public entrance from the north, while the ministerial entrance is from the east. Designed as a courtyard-like space, this center serves as a meeting space for the public and elected representatives. Protected by a 250-meter-high conical roof and a projecting eave, the building’s spiral ramp leads to the cultural museum and viewing gallery.

Situated off the central axis, the High Court complex features a stepped roof inspired by India’s ancient stupas. The roof’s deep overhangs not only provide shade but also naturally ventilate the building. Inspired by traditional temple layouts, the plan consists of alternating concentric rooms and circulation zones. The most public areas, the administrative offices and lower courts, are located on the outer edges of the building, while the interior spaces are reserved for the Chief Justice’s court and private chambers.

6. Smart Forest City

Location: Mexico
Architect: Stefano Boeri Architetti

Focusing on innovation and environmental quality, Mexico’s first Smart Forest City was commissioned by Grupo Karim, and its master plan was designed by Stefano Boeri Architects. This futuristic city, an urban ecosystem where nature and the city intertwine as a single organism, is designed to pioneer ecologically efficient developments. Located on a 557-hectare site near Cancun, Smart Forest City offers accommodation for up to 130,000 people.

Based on an open and international urban design concept inspired by technological innovation and environmental quality, the Smart Forest City will feature 362 hectares of cultivated land and 120,000 plants from 350 different species selected by landscape architect Laura Gatti. A high-tech innovation center, part of Forest City, is a space where university departments, institutions, laboratories, and companies can address important global challenges such as environmental sustainability and the future of the planet.

Smart Forest City is designed as a self-sufficient settlement for energy production, supported by a ring of photovoltaic panels and a water system connected to the sea through an underground channel. This setup encourages the development of a circular economy centered on water use. Water is collected at the city’s entrance by a large pier and a desalination tower, and distributed through a system of navigation channels to residential areas and surrounding agricultural lands. Designed as a pioneer in mobility, Smart Forest City is all-electric or semi-automatic, requiring residents and visitors to abandon all internal combustion engine vehicles within the city limits.

Designed according to the principles of Uncertain Urban Planning, the city allows remarkable flexibility in the distribution of architectural and building types. A botanical garden within a contemporary city, Cancun’s Smart Forest City is rooted in traditional local heritage and a connection to both the natural and sacred worlds. The path to detoxified and immaterial goods and services is comprised of the four Rs: reduction, repair, reuse, and recycling. By pursuing radically more eco-efficient solutions, beginning with reducing overall energy demand and waste generation, the Smart Forest City addresses these development needs by improving lifestyles and behaviors, particularly through the education and economic empowerment of women.

7. The Orbit

Location: Canada
Architect: Partisans

Designed by Partisans in anticipation of the arrival of high-speed mass transit connecting it to downtown Toronto, The Orbit is a vision for a state-of-the-art central neighborhood in the town of Innisfil, Canada. By combining autonomous vehicles and drone ports, the project aims to transform a Canadian town into a smart community, while preserving the existing agricultural and lush green environment, and incorporating a range of new technologies into a city of the future. The city, which integrates a fiber optic network—wires that quickly transmit information using optical technology—will connect development areas such as sidewalks, streets, and buildings.

Representing the next stage of growth for Innisfil, The Orbit spans 450 acres and extends the garden-city tradition by embracing the town’s agricultural roots alongside 21st-century urbanism and architectural thinking. The Orbit boasts over 40 million square meters of built-up area. Home to 150,000 residents, the project will create a dynamic hub of activity for visitors and residents.

Eliminating the need to leave the area, the master plan will include a full range of community amenities and spaces within walking distance, including a school with a daycare center, office space designed for local entrepreneurs and traditional and non-traditional industries, year-round sports and recreation options, arts and cultural spaces, and more. The project’s health and wellness campus will be connected to larger hospitals in the area through technology.

8. Maldives Floating City

Location: Maldives
Architect: Waterstudio.nl3

Designed as a benchmark for vibrant communities, the Maldives Floating City is the first “island city” located in a 200-hectare warm-water lagoon just 10 minutes by boat from Male. This project, the world’s first true floating island city, is inspired by traditional Maldivian maritime culture. Consisting of thousands of residences floating on a functional grid, the Maldives Floating City will accommodate 20,000 people.

Embracing sustainability and livability in equal measure, the Floating City is rooted in the local culture of a seafaring nation that celebrates the strong bond between Maldivians and the ocean. The project stands out with its boat-based community, where canals function as logistics and transit routes, and land-based transportation is limited to walking and cycling on natural white-sand pathways. MFC features a nature-based network of roads and waterways efficiently organized like real brain coral formations. Designed with the concept of “next-generation sea-level rise-resilient urban development,” combining green technology, security, and commercial viability, the city transforms the Maldives into a climate innovator.

Responding to dynamic demand, weather, and climate change, the smart grid utilizes innovative sustainable development technologies and proposes ecological practices to protect, preserve, and enhance the marine ecosystem. Constructed at a local shipyard, the units are mounted on a large underwater concrete hull anchored to the seabed on telescopic steel legs. The underwater coral reefs, along with a network of interconnected floating structures, will act as natural wave breakers, providing comfort and safety for residents.

9. Chengdu Future City

Location: China
Architect: OMA

Designed by OMA for the capital of China’s Sichuan province, Chengdu Future City is a car-free master plan that focuses on the region’s existing geography and topography. The city, shaped by the question, “How can a master plan for the innovation industry be innovative in itself?”, defines the urban typologies and their organization within the existing topography, greenery, and water systems program on the site, resulting in a new type of master plan that combines urban and rural qualities in China.

Inspired by the Lin Pan villages of Chengdu, the 4.6-square-kilometer master plan consists of six clusters, each defined by its program and highlighting a specific architectural typology and its relationship to topography and local water systems. The Living Cluster, featuring commercial programs on the ground level and residential developments above, is centered around a reservoir that evokes the site’s water elements.

The University Cluster, featuring hill-like landscaped terraces, will feature a biofiltration system where the buildings’ extensive rooftops will become rain gardens, filtering water and collecting it in underground storage tanks and ponds. The University Cluster is connected to the Laboratory Cluster, located in the wetland, by walkways and bicycle paths. Featuring research gardens, the Laboratory Cluster also includes rooftop agricultural systems equipped with facilities for innovative experiments.

The Market Cluster, an elevated grid structure with commercial and public facilities on the ground floor and residential developments and offices above, is characterized by its use of hydroelectricity. The Public Cluster, a raised circular volume to which all train and transportation facilities will be connected, will be a Transportation-Oriented Development (TOD) with public spaces and support for research, exhibition, and production programs. Situated atop a riverfront hill, the Government Cluster comprises five office buildings encircling a central block.

All clusters will be free of vehicular traffic and scaled so that every destination is reachable within ten minutes. They will be connected to the train station and surrounding urban areas through an intelligent mobility network designed for autonomous vehicles.

10. The Line

Location: Saudi Arabia

As one of the most ambitious architectural and urban projects of the 21st century, The Line, designed within the NEOM (New Future) development, serves as a model for preserving nature and enhancing human life. Planned to be built along a 170-kilometer stretch in northwest Saudi Arabia, the megastructure with mirrored facades will be 500 meters high and 200 meters wide.

A dramatic alternative to traditional cities that radiate from a central point, The Line addresses the challenges humanity faces in today’s urban life and illuminates alternative lifestyles. Comprised of two wall-like structures with open space between them, the city will be the 12th-tallest building in the world upon completion and by far the longest structure. The project, expected to house 9 million people, will include housing, shopping, and recreational areas, schools, and parks. Designed with the principles of Zero Gravity Urbanism, The Line will layer various functions.

Featuring a mirrored exterior façade that defines its unique character and enables even its minimal footprint to blend into the natural surroundings, The Line’s interior is designed to offer extraordinary experiences and immersive moments. A transportation system will run the length of the megastructure, connecting the two ends of the city in 20 minutes.

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Giant 3D map shows almost every building in the world

Dec 12, 2025

Image : ZME SCIENCE

A giant 3D map shows almost every building in the world

A database of 2.75 billion buildings could help scientists to monitor urban planning, climate change, disaster risks and even corruption.

By Mohana Basu, in Nature

An aerial building model of structures in Singapore with heights highlighted in different shades of blue. — Three-dimensional maps, such as this one of a district in Singapore, could help researchers to keep track of urban planning, disaster risk assessment and climate change.Credit: Zhu *et al./ESSD*

Scientists have produced the most detailed 3D map of almost all buildings in the world. The map, called GlobalBuildingAtlas, combines satellite imagery and machine learning to generate 3D models for 97% of buildings on Earth.

The data set, published in the open-access journal Earth System Science Data on 1 December¹, covers 2.75 billion buildings, each mapped with footprints and heights at a spatial resolution of 3 metres by 3 metres.

The 3D map opens new possibilities for disaster risk assessment, climate modelling and urban planning, according to study co-author Xiaoxiang Zhu, an Earth observation data scientist at the Technical University of Munich in Germany. It could also help to improve how researchers monitor United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals for cities and communities, Zhu adds.

Billions of buildings

Conventionally, creating detailed 3D maps at a global scale has been difficult, say Zhu, because it usually requires either laser scanning or high‑resolution stereo imagery. The team’s solution was to combine deep learning with laser-scanning techniques to predict building heights. The tool was trained on reference data obtained using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) from 168 cities, mostly in Europe, North America and Oceania.

The researchers created the 3D maps from approximately 800,000 satellite scenes captured in 2019, using the deep-learning tool to predict building heights, volumes and areas.

The study found that Asia accounts for nearly half of all mapped buildings in the world — approximately 1.22 billion structures. Asia also dominates the total building volume at 1.27 trillion cubic metres, reflecting rapid urbanization and dense metropolitan clusters in China, India and southeast Asia.

Africa has the second largest number of buildings, at 540 million, but their combined volume is only 117 billion cubic metres, underscoring the prevalence of small, low-rise structures.

City-scale analyses illustrate how building volume correlates with population density and economic development. In Europe, Finland has six times more building volume per capita than does Greece. The study also highlighted that Niger’s per-capita building volume is 27 times below the world average.

These patterns suggest that conventional 2D measures of urban growth, such as built-up areas, might obscure crucial differences between infrastructure and living conditions.

An aerial model of structures in Changsha, China, overlayed on a map of the city. Heights of buildings are highlighted in different shades of blue. — An aerial model of structures in the Chinese city of Changsha.Credit: Zhu *et al./ESSD*, (Basemap ©CARTO and ©OpenStreetMap contributors)

Disaster risk assessment

Dorina Pojani, an urban planning researcher at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, says that the data set would be extremely valuable for her research, because she has previously relied on static, 2D data.

“Since this can be regularly updated it will be very valuable over the next five to ten years, as the data set will reveal how urban areas develop over time,” Pojani says.

She says that the data set presents fresh opportunities to study corruption, allowing researchers to “link buildings or projects to specific developers, firms or politically connected actors, and ask whether certain networks of people are disproportionately represented in high-value or strategically located projects”.

Pojani says her previous research has linked informal settlements with election outcomes². Political parties often ignore “such settlements when there is an election coming up”, she adds. With a more dynamic data set, Pojani says her work could involve more high-quality evidence.

Liton Kamruzzaman, a transport and urban planner at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, says that the data set has a lot of potential to help track urbanization around the world.

“There are many parts in the world that do not have any information about how their cities and buildings are growing. This data set is great for everyone irrespective of where they are living,” he adds.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-04036-x

References

Zhu, X. X., Chen, S., Zhang, F., Shi, Y. & Wang, Y. Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 6647–6668 (2025).

Article Google Scholar
Merkaj, E., Imami, D., Pojani, D. & Lami, E. Polit. Geogr. 113, 103155 (2024).

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Giant 3D map shows almost every building in the world

Billions of buildings

Disaster risk assessment

References

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