• iPhone SE 4 (March): ‌iPhone‌ 14-like design, 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, A18 chip, USB-C port, single 48-megapixel camera, 8GB memory, Apple Intelligence support, and Apple-designed 5G modem.


• Command Center (March): Smart home hub product with 6-inch display, attachable to a tabletop base with a speaker or mounted on a wall, runs new "homeOS" operating system with smart home controls and customizable widget-focused home screen, proximity sensors to adjust widget size based on distance, Siri and ‌Apple Intelligence‌ support, and built-in camera for FaceTime calls.


• 2025 MacBook Air (March–June): M4 chip.


• iPad 11 (March–June): Faster chip, 8GB memory, and ‌Apple Intelligence‌ support.


• iPad Air 7 (March–June): M3 or M4 chip.


• New Magic Keyboard for iPad Air (March–June): Thinner and lighter design with aluminum palm rest, larger glass trackpad, and function row.


• AirTag 2 (mid-2025): Second-generation Ultra Wideband chip for better range and improved location tracking, new tamper-protections including more durable speaker, and Apple Vision Pro integration.


• Mac Studio (mid-2025): M4 Max and M4 Ultra chip options.


• Mac Pro (mid-2025): M4 Ultra chip.


• HomePod 3 (July–September): OLED display, A18 chip, ‌Apple Intelligence‌ support, and improved smart home functionality.


• HomePod mini 2: Newer S-series chip, improved sound quality, second-generation Ultra Wideband chip for a lower-latency Handoff experience, new color options, and Apple-designed wi-fi and Bluetooth chip with Wi-Fi 6E support.


• Apple TV 4K 4: Newer chip and Apple-designed wi-fi and Bluetooth chip with Wi-Fi 6E support.


• iPhone 17 (September): 6.1-inch OLED display with ProMotion for refresh rates up to 120Hz, more scratch-resistant front glass, "A19" chip, and 24-megapixel front-facing camera.


• iPhone 17 Air (September): 6.6-inch OLED display with ProMotion for refresh rates up to 120Hz, more scratch-resistant front glass, super-thin design, single speaker, no SIM card tray, "A19" chip, Apple-designed 5G modem, 24-megapixel front-facing camera, and centered single rear camera.


• iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max (September): Lightweight aluminum frame with part-glass rear for wireless charging, easier-to-remove battery, "A19 Pro" chip, 12GB memory, 24-megapixel front-facing camera, 48-megapixel tetraprism Telephoto camera, and at least one rear camera with mechanical aperture.


• Apple Watch SE 3 (September): Plastic casing, larger displays with 41mm and 45mm case sizes, newer chip.


• Apple Watch Series 11 (September): Hypertension detection.


• Apple Watch Ultra 3 (September): Hypertension detection, messages via satellite, and 5G cellular connectivity.


• AirPods Pro 3: Refreshed design, improved audio quality and Active Noise Cancellation, new chip, temperature sensor, and capacitive pairing button.


• iPad Pro (late 2025): M5 chip.


• MacBook Pro (late 2025): M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max chip options.


• Apple Vision Pro 2: M5 chip and ‌Apple Intelligence‌ support.

Cities across the U.S., including Phoenix, Chicago, and Boise, are embracing urban reforestation as a critical strategy to address urban heat, environmental inequities, and community revitalization. Phoenix, the first U.S. city to commit to full tree equity, recently launched its Shade Phoenix master plan, aiming to plant 27,000 trees and install 550 shade structures by 2030, backed by $60 million in public and private funding. Similarly, Chicago is working to bridge tree canopy disparities with its $46 million initiative to plant 75,000 trees over five years, while Boise’s City of Trees Challenge targets one tree for every household by 2030. These efforts demonstrate the growing recognition of trees as vital green infrastructure that provides environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Community engagement is central to these programs, with cities like Chicago forming tree equity working groups and involving diverse stakeholders to ensure that tree planting efforts address historical disinvestment in underserved neighborhoods. American Forests, a nonprofit advocating for tree equity, underscores the life-saving potential of urban trees, noting that low-income and majority-minority communities often face extreme heat due to lower tree canopy coverage. The Inflation Reduction Act has further bolstered these initiatives by directing $50 million to tree planting projects nationwide, enabling cities to integrate trees into urban planning as essential infrastructure alongside roads and utilities.

These ambitious programs highlight the long-term value of strategic urban reforestation, not just in mitigating climate challenges but also in enhancing public health, property values, and livability. By focusing on equity and sustainability, cities are creating cooler, healthier environments while fostering trust and participation among community members. As urban areas continue to adapt to extreme heat and climate change, leaders are increasingly treating trees as indispensable assets, planting the seeds for a greener, more resilient future.

• Green Infrastructure
• Trees
• Tree Canopy
• Urban Trees
• Extreme Heat
• Cooling
• Urban Heat Island Effect

A new city program in Boston will assist non-profit and mission-driven housing developers acquire occupied multifamily housing if they pledge to keep it permanently affordable.

As Ysabelle Kempe reports in Smart Cities Dive, “The public-private partnership aims to raise $25 million. The city already has about $13 million from city grant funding and 10 local organizations, including medical centers and philanthropic groups.”

The Boston Acquisition Fund will offer revolving loans, similar to the city’s existing Acquisition Opportunity Program, which has helped developers buy over 1,000 units since its launch in 2016.

“As a revolving fund, the BAF will provide low-interest loans to developers, and the repaid funds will be reinvested into future projects. This model creates “a sustainable model for preserving affordability,” according to the city of Boston.” The city aims to help developers acquire 500 units by 2030 under the new program.

• Boston
• Boston Acquisition Fund
• Affordable Housing
• Housing Costs
• Nonprofit Developers

A Delaware housing complex originally built as emergency shelter could offer a useful model as an “ecosystem of care,” writes Frances Nguyen in a Shelterforce article republished in Next City. “In addition to offering case management and mental health services on site, the center took advantage of its space to accommodate a full medical practice—run by ChristianaCare, the state’s largest hospital system—on one of its floors.”

The Hope Center is one of the largest shelters on the East Coast, with 185 available rooms and roughly 360 clients on any given night. According to Nguyen, “The center has partnerships with local groups to support those families that have school-aged children—including with a network of charter schools in the area, who refer families enrolled in their schools and pay for up to a 90-day stay for them—as well as with the Delaware Division of Family Services, which serves families at risk of losing their children due to their homelessness.”

The housing is pet-friendly and also offers on-site veterinary services, the only shelter in Delaware to do so. And while it primarily serves as an emergency shelter, some residents have lived there for over a year. To assist these residents, the shelter just opened its first supportive housing units, which will occupy two floors of the building and house veterans and people classified as “chronically homeless.”

As Nguyen explains, “Part of the Hope Center’s mission is to not only challenge society’s perception of who the most vulnerable members of their community are, but also to imagine a different approach to tackling homelessness—one that is humane and dignified, and applies resources where they’re most needed.”

• Homelessness
• Unhoused
• Emergency Shelter
• Supportive Services
• Supportive Housing

Baltimore's 21st Century School Buildings Program (21CSBP) demonstrates how school infrastructure investments can be leveraged for broader community development goals. Launched in 2013 with $1.1 billion in funding, the program has built or renovated 27 schools while intentionally connecting these investments to neighborhood revitalization efforts.

Four key lessons emerged from Baltimore's experience:

1. Different institutional philosophies between education and community development agencies created implementation challenges. While the school district prioritized addressing historical inequities, housing and community development agencies favored investing in areas with greater market potential.
2. High-capacity community organizations proved essential for connecting school improvements to neighborhood development. The Southeast Community Development Corporation successfully integrated community school coordination with broader neighborhood initiatives, while areas lacking strong community organizations struggled to create these connections.
3. School stability requires comprehensive housing strategies that prevent displacement. The Cherry Hill neighborhood case study showed how public housing policy and demographic trends affect school enrollment and facility utilization.
4. Building community trust requires acknowledging historical disinvestment while delivering visible neighborhood improvements. Baltimore's INSPIRE program helped rebuild trust through quick implementation of community-driven projects like pocket parks, sidewalks, and lighting around new schools.

The initiative demonstrates both the challenges and opportunities of using school infrastructure investments as catalysts for community development. While institutional coordination proved complex, Baltimore's experience shows how intentional alignment between school and neighborhood investments can amplify positive outcomes for both education and community development.

• Education
• Community Planning
• Baltimore
• Neighborhood Development
• Infrastructure Financing

1. With ChatGPT open, open a supported app (such as Apple Notes).


2. Press Option + Shift + 1 to invoke the ChatGPT bar.


3. Type queries or use advanced voice mode for hands-free interaction.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is facing a growing budget gap exacerbated by a drop in parking revenue at city-owned lots, writes Joe Eskenazi for Mission Local, which could lead to massive service cuts.

For Eskenazi, this would be a grave mistake. “When you eviscerate Muni, you eviscerate San Francisco. This will affect your life, even if you haven’t set foot on a bus or light-rail vehicle for years. There will be no downtown recovery without functional transit.”

Eskenazi asserts that San Franciscans depend on transit. “Ridership numbers are at around three-quarters of what they were prior to the pandemic. On a handful of lines, ridership is equal or better to early 2020; in some cases, way better.”

Eskenazi notes that the agency could save money by not funding the city’s iconic — but not entirely useful — cable cars, which ran a $55.2 operating deficit in 2023. “Riders, again, do not hop on buses or trains for a joyride, or out of a sense of transit boosterism. If Muni is not convenient and functional — if it does not go where people need when they need it — it ceases to serve a purpose.”

• San Francisco
• MUNI
• San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
• SFMTA
• Public Transit
• Transit Funding

Transition documents seen by Reuters reveal that the next Trump administration plans to aggressively retract federal support for electric vehicles, reports Jonathan M. Gitlin in Wired.

According to Gitlin, “Trade tariffs will evidently be a major weapon of the next Trump administration, particularly when deployed to block EV manufacturing. Even the current administration has been wary enough of China dumping cheap EVs that it instituted singeing tariffs on Chinese-made EVs and batteries, with bipartisan support from Congress.” 

The incoming administration plans to eliminate the federal EV tax credit, claw back some of the $7.5 billion in funding dedicated to developing a charging network, and apply tariffs to battery materials globally, which will make EVs more expensive — including for U.S. automakers. “Currently the federal government is required to purchase more EVs as it replaces old vehicles, with a requirement for all light vehicles to be zero emissions by 2027. This will no longer be the case under Trump, who will also end any Department of Defense programs that are meant to purchase or develop electric military vehicles.”

• Electric Vehicles
• EV Charging
• EV Rebates
• Tax Credits
• Electric Cars
• Zero-Emission Vehicle Program

The Barcelona subway is using power harnessed from braking train cars to power its stations, trains, and even other electric vehicles.

As Joseph Wilson explains in an Associated Press article, the MetroCharge regenerative braking project is in place at 16 stations. An electric motor captures energy that would otherwise be released as heat.

One innovation of the Barcelona system is its use of generated power locally, making it more efficient. The system estimates it will recover the 7.3 million Euros spent on the system in four years as it saves on energy costs. The regenerative system creates enough energy to fully power 28 of the 163 Barcelona metro stations.

• Barcelona
• Regenerative Braking
• Renewable Energy
• Public Transit

Advance planning work on the Cascadia High-Speed Rail program will proceed thanks to a $49.7 million grant awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The proposed rail line would connect Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, British Columbia.

According to an article in Big Country News, “This marks the second federal grant award for Cascadia High-Speed Rail, now part of the federal funding pipeline for passenger rail development. The program will also receive $5.5 million in matching funds from the Washington State Legislature.”

This is the first major investment secured for the project to advance technical and public engagement work. “The jurisdictional partners will continue to work with the Federal Railroad Administration through the Corridor Identification and Development Program to fund future phases of work, including further environmental review of potential route options.”

• Cascadia High-Speed Rail
• High-Speed Rail
• Passenger Rail
• Trains

The city of Denver is revamping its landscaping requirements to encourage more sustainable, resilient landscaping. As Ysabelle Kempe explains in Smart Cities Dive, the new rules will apply to new developments and some redevelopment projects in the city.

The new rules will be established after a public engagement process that will begin in 2025. “Across Denver, non-functional turf covers areas along roadways and in medians and parking lots. A 2024 study finds that 74% of Denver’s turf is on private land, according to a Dec. 9 presentation by city staff to the budget and policy committee.” The city also has some of the lowest tree canopy coverage at 15 percent.

A Colorado state law passed earlier this year bans non-functional and artificial turf in commercial, industrial, and institutional developments. Denver’s updated regulations will apply to all landscaping in the city and county, but will not affect existing landscaping.

• Denver
• Landscaping
• Water Conservation
• Resilience
• Sustainability
• Native Plants
• Non-Functional Turf
• Ornamental Grass