Urban Development

Barcelona – September 18, 2026 -- Barcelona City Council will launch HOWS Barcelona – Housing World Summit, a new international congress on urban and affordable housing, running November 3-5 at the Gran Via venue alongside the Smart City Expo World Congress.

Congress assembles 100+ speakers across 20 sessions on housing crisis

Organized by Fira de Barcelona, the three-day program will feature more than 100 speakers across 20 sessions, targeting cities, housing providers, real estate developers, investors, non-profit organizations and academia. The event is positioned to become a platform for debate and innovation addressing what organizers call one of the most pressing challenges facing cities today.

Lisle, Ill. – September 18, 2026 -- The Morton Arboretum's "Green City Rising: People and Trees Thriving Together" concept was named a co-winner of the Horizon Lines: Visions for Chicago 2050 competition, World Business Chicago announced Sept. 15 at the City Club of Chicago.

Arboretum plan beat nearly 200 submissions to reach six finalists

"Green City Rising" reimagines Chicago as a connected network of tree-centric green spaces designed to give every neighborhood a healthy tree canopy by 2050. Landscape architecture firm MKSK was named the other co-winner for its "Wonderways!" proposal to convert Chicago's boulevards into a network of climate commons.

Atlanta – September 15, 2026 -- The Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade returns Sept. 19 for its 16th year with a route nearly half a mile longer than prior editions, extending the procession to almost two miles along the Beltline's Southwest Trail.

Parade route grows as Beltline corridor expansion continues

The event, launched in 2010 by resident artist Chantelle Rytter and her volunteer Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons, now stretches from Beulah Colbert Park through neighborhood streets to Lee + White, where it closes with the All-Band Puppet Jam. Organizers report attendance has grown from a few hundred participants at the trail's first completed segment to thousands today, tracking the phased buildout of the Beltline's 22-mile rail-to-trail corridor.

Newark, NJ – September 15, 2026 -- New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC) has listed two rehabilitated single-family homes on Cortland Street in Newark's Ironbound at $384,900 each, roughly $50,000 below an estimated market value of $435,000, under a $2.625 million state appropriation sponsored by Legislative District 29.

State funding totals $2.625 million across two fiscal years

Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz and Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin sponsored the resolution restoring $1,125,000 for the program in the FY27 State Budget, building on a $1,500,000 allocation secured in FY26. Assemblywoman Shanique Speight joined the two in directing the combined funds to Newark housing stability efforts.

Berlin – September 15, 2026 -- Steffen Krach, the Social Democratic Party's (SPD) top candidate for Berlin's upcoming Abgeordnetenhaus election, has proposed increasing annual funding for the Berlin city cleaning utility BSR (Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe) by €20 million to €30 million.

Krach says a €45 billion city budget can absorb the increase

Krach told rbb that a growing city requires greater investment in sanitation infrastructure and that the additional sum is feasible within Berlin's overall €45 billion budget.

Candidate ties revenue growth to new business formation and job creation

To fund the initiative without new taxes, Krach said Berlin needs new companies and more jobs, arguing that higher employment would simultaneously reduce fiscal pressure on the city budget.