The smallest city in our Top 50 is growing fast and attracting global attention for its climate resilience and fresh air. Tower cranes mark the next $660-million phase of Portland Foreside—nearly 400 new homes, a 128-room waterfront hotel and 50,000 square feet of retail are all climbing skyward for a 2026 debut, extending the Old Port’s grid toward the Eastern Prom. It’s only going to improve the city’s impressive Top 25 walkability (and 11th-best biking). Just inland, Northeastern’s $500-million Roux Institute campus broke ground last fall on the former B&M Baked Beans site. When the AI and biotech hub opens in 2027, it will pour research dollars—and a pipeline of talent—into Maine’s fast-growing $2.3-billion life sciences sector, already forecast to outpace every other industry next year. Given the 5th lowest unemployment in the country, talent attraction is going to be paramount. Good thing housing supply is catching up: the West Bayside master plan begins its first of five buildings in 2025, ultimately delivering 800+ new rentals, a quarter of them affordable, threaded with greenways and bike lanes. Tourism is also booming, with the 48-room Longfellow—Portland’s first wellness-centric boutique—now open and the port expecting a record 97 cruise calls this season.