In New York City (United States), the waterfront section of East River Park is being reshaped under the design of BIG — Bjarke Ingels Group. The plan creates a continuous elevated green “park-ipelago” that doubles as flood protection for Lower East Side neighbourhoods, incorporating multi-use lawns, sports courts, an amphitheatre, and new pedestrian bridges. The project spans from Montgomery to East 25th Street, aiming to enhance ecological resilience and public amenities in one unified waterfront space. With targeted completion in 2025, the development aims to protect and revitalise the city-edge while offering vibrant new open-air experiences.

The port of Zeebrugge (Belgium) will gain new access to its inner harbour thanks to the Flemish government’s recent approval of a project for a second lock. In addition to the lock, the project includes a new access road to separate port traffic from local traffic in order to improve traffic flow around and in the centre of Zeebrugge. To take into account the overall quality of life of the local population, certain adjacent infrastructure and facilities will also be improved. The project team is organising two information sessions for residents in November. This decision strengthens the port’s position in terms of regional economy and place of employment.

St. Louis (USA) is implementing a major program to reduce wastewater overflows into the Mississippi River during heavy rainfall. The city’s sewer system, often operating at full capacity, can discharge polluted runoff into the river. To address this, residents are encouraged to install green infrastructure, such as rain gardens, retention basins, and rainwater harvesting systems, partially supported by public grants. Nearly $120 million is planned for investment by 2034. The program demonstrates St. Louis’ commitment to integrating nature-based solutions into urban planning, increasing neighbourhood resilience, and improving life quality for residents.

The city of North Vancouver (Canada) is set to build a floating swimming platform along the waterfront managed by the port. It will be completed in 2027. The project is being funded by the city and the Swim Drink Fish non-profit organization, which received a CAD 16 million donation from the Weston Family Foundation. The project includes a saltwater pool, swimming lanes, and rest areas. It will be able to accommodate 400 people. Access to the platform will be free and supervised from May to September. Annual operating costs are estimated at CAD 500,000. At the same time, the Swim Drink Fish association is launching WAVE, a grant program (from CAD 3 to 15 million) for local governments and First Nations for similar projects.

Mulapeta Port (India), on which construction started in 2023, will welcome its first ship in December 2025. However, the real estate business did not wait for the port’s completion to speculate, resulting in many unauthorised constructions in the port’s neighbouring areas. Converting agricultural land into plots, the realtors sometimes sold the plots at a profit but without electricity or drinking water connections. The government has paid roughly €6.25 per m² to farmers as compensation, real estate developers are now selling plots for about €120 per m². While local authorities announced that the culprits would be prosecuted, the development of Mulapeta Port exemplifies how the planning of new port projects must include community interests and long-term regional planning to succeed.

Enedis, a French energy distribution system operator, has launched the Marseille Network programme. It is a €250 million ($287.9m) investment and maintenance plan to accelerate the modernisation of Marseilles’ public electricity distribution network by 2030. Its three priorities are strengthening the grid’s resilience to the effects of climate change, facilitating the decarbonisation of (maritime) transport, and supporting the urban and industrial development of the region. For the city, this means reducing power outage times to ca. 40 minutes per year. Enedis is also collaborating with the Port of Marseille Fos on the ‘Zero Smoke Stopovers’ project, aiming to connect 100% of ferries to electricity before 2026 and planning the establishment of five port charging points, totalling 160MW capacity.