Drinking alcohol the night before physical labor or exercise in hot conditions of Texas, California, Florida and in the Middle East may increase inflammation in the body and raise the risk of heat-related illness, according to research presented at the 2026 American Physiology Summit in Minneapolis, the flagship meeting of the American Physiological Society.

Related: 10 alcohol-free drinks for the summer – mocktails

This is especially relevant for outdoor workers in roofing, paving, hardscaping, pool installation, and residential construction exposed to extreme heat.

Working or exercising in heat already triggers inflammation as part of a normal stress response. But excessive inflammation can contribute to heat illness. Alcohol can further elevate inflammation, especially darker alcoholic drinks such as whiskey, tequila and red wine, and through acetaldehyde, a toxic byproduct created when the body metabolizes alcohol. Alcohol may also irritate the gut, allowing bacteria to enter the bloodstream and activate an immune response — a concern for construction crews, landscape contractors, and tradespeople working long hours outdoors.

Elevated inflammation can strain the heart by making it work harder in heat, impairing blood vessel function, and increasing the risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Related: why Muslims don’t drink alcohol

While a cold beer is the first thing you will want after a day in the sun — whether roofing, laying down pavers, building decks or installing backyard pools — what happens when alcohol and heat exposure are combined is less clear. Previous research suggests around 30% of construction workers report working with hangover symptoms at least once a month. Alcohol-related inflammation is typically temporary, but its interaction with heat stress is still being studied.

In two trials, volunteers walked on a treadmill for four hours, simulating half a workday, in a hot room (100°F with 40% humidity). In one session, participants consumed about eight standard drinks the night before (reaching a blood alcohol level of 0.11), while in the other they abstained. Blood samples taken after exercise showed higher levels of inflammatory markers following alcohol consumption.

“These findings suggest that drinking alcohol the night before prolonged physical work in the heat may amplify parts of the body’s inflammatory response,” said Jonathan Specht, PhD, the study’s corresponding author. “Those exerting themselves after drinking should take extra precautions, including hydration, rest and seeking shade.”

The take home? Be mindful about alcohol consumption. Cancer studies have found that no amount is safe, and if you are hard-working and in the sun, don’t drink heavily the night before. Your heart health may depend on it.

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Generation Regeneration, launching August 2026, is a book by Tony Cho positioned as a blueprint for the future of cities: it’s a piece of thought leadership aimed at investors, planners, students, and policymakers trying to make sense of urban life in an age of climate stress and social fragmentation. When Green Prophet wrote about California’s first farm to table community in California called The Cannery, we received hundreds of emails about it. Back then the idea was fresh and new and it resonated with people looking for a new kind of suburb and intentional community.

But Tony’s new book explores the surface of what will make people and planet happy. Behind his book sits a message and a business: regenerative real estate development. District-scale projects like PHXJAX in Jacksonville and investment vehicles, including a Portugal-based fund tied to the Golden Visa program. In Cho’s model, culture, community, and ecology are not side effects of development, they are part of the value proposition.

Tony is a regenerative developer and community builder focused on designing cities as living ecosystems that support human connection and ecological balance. A key figure in Miami’s urban transformation, he helped shape the Wynwood Arts District and founded the Magic City Innovation District. Influenced by an unconventional upbringing that included time in an ashram, Cho brings a spiritual lens to real estate, blending culture, community, and capital into what he calls regenerative placemaking.

Call it regenerative placemaking, or strip it down further: a new way of packaging cities as living systems that can generate both meaning and returns. We spoke with Cho about how the model works, who it serves, and whether cities can truly be built like ecosystems, without repeating the extractive patterns they claim to replace. Thousands of communities around the world have tried to build alternative communities, and communes. Nothing to date has survived to become a replicable model for greatness. Does Tony have new answers?

Interview: Tony Cho on Regenerative Placemaking and the Future of Cities

Green Prophet: You talk about regenerative placemaking almost like a living system. Where does money fit into that? Is it philanthropy, or something else?

Tony Cho: Real estate value creation is the financial engine — but its purpose should be to serve the community, not extract from it. Strategic public-private partnership is what unlocks a district’s potential in the first place: public investment de-risks the environment, private capital activates it, and together they generate the income streams that sustain operations over time.

That real estate-derived value then becomes the container — the stable financial infrastructure that allows grant programming and philanthropic investment to do what they do best: fund social and educational programming, community events, and youth engagement.

We’re actively demonstrating this across Florida, which I talk about in my forthcoming book Generation Regeneration: Codesigning the Future of Cities Through Regenerative Placemaking coming out this August.

Green Prophet: That sounds balanced in theory, but real estate has a long history of extracting value from communities. What keeps this from becoming just another version of that?

Tony Cho: Community participation has never been a box-ticking exercise for us — it’s been foundational from day one. From early visioning workshops to open meetings, surveys, and collaborative design sessions, residents and cultural stakeholders have helped shape public programming and activations, define what local success looks like, give feedback on design and build strategy, and co-curate arts, events, business incubation, and youth priorities.

We say “we build with you, not just for you.” That distinction is the difference between a development that lands in a community and one that grows from it.

Green Prophet: You’ve worked in Miami and Jacksonville — places with layered histories and tensions. What lessons translate to older port cities or culturally complex places like Jaffa?

Tony Cho: Decades of neighbourhood and district work has taught me a few things that I believe travel well across geographies and cultural contexts.

First — start with people and plants, not buildings. Before a single blueprint is drawn, we ask: who lives here, and what once grew here? Listening to long-time residents and reading the native ecology of a place — its soils, its waterways, its indigenous plant communities — are not separate acts. They’re the same act. Transformation that lasts is always rooted in what came before.

Second — pair cultural narrative with economic strategy. Historic and port cities aren’t just real estate opportunities; they’re living stories with layers of identity, memory, and meaning. The most resilient districts weave culture and commerce together — public art, festivals, and markets alongside mixed-use development and eco-literacy — so that each reinforces the other rather than replacing it.

Third — hybrid financing creates resilience. Blending private capital, public incentives, and mission-aligned funding rather than relying on any single source is what allows a project to weather political cycles, market shifts, and the inevitable friction of long-term development.

And fourth — let community programs lead, not just follow, development. Spaces enlivened by real community life — education, youth programming, makers, artisans — scale more equitably and more durably than places that simply layer new uses onto existing fabric without cultural rootedness.

In places with deep historical layering — where displacement and cultural erasure are not theoretical risks — these principles aren’t just best practices. They’re ethical imperatives.

The community isn’t the audience for the development. They’re its co-authors.

Green Prophet: You’re now expanding internationally, including into Portugal. Is regenerative placemaking becoming a global model, or is this just another way to package real estate for investors?

Tony Cho: Yes — and Portugal is where that expansion is taking shape most concretely right now. Future of Cities is expanding into Europe through a venture capital fund that qualifies for Portugal’s Golden Visa program. The fund is designed to invest in a portfolio guided by our Regenerative Placemaking strategy, with at least 60% of investments in Portugal and the remainder primarily in the U.S.

The two core investment themes are hospitality and community revitalization — which should feel very familiar to anyone who has followed our work in Jacksonville and Miami.

Portugal made sense for a number of reasons. It has been voted Europe’s best destination, holds one of the world’s most powerful passports, and is emerging as a genuine leader in regeneration and sustainability. But beyond the metrics, it’s a country with historic port cities, rich cultural layering, and neighborhoods that are ripe for the kind of adaptive, community-rooted development we practice.

More broadly, while there aren’t formal Regenerative Placemaking branches overseas just yet, the underlying framework is being discussed and explored in cities around the world — at global forums, summits, and in direct conversations with communities navigating growth.

The core idea travels: ground the project in community identity, align financial sustainability with social outcomes, and co-design with local stakeholders from day one.

Green Prophet: Final question, can cities really be built like ecosystems, or is that just language?

Tony Cho: The principles that are shaping our current projects — adaptive reuse, hybrid financing, community co-design, cultural preservation alongside economic vitality — are not uniquely American ideas. They’re responses to universal challenges that cities everywhere are facing. The idea is simple, even if the execution is complex: align human systems with living systems. When you do that, cities don’t just grow — they evolve.

In a world of smart cities and sensor grids, Cho is betting on something more resilient: when people are given a place to belong, they will do the work of regeneration themselves.

The post He’s selling a book. But Tony Cho is really selling a new model for cities appeared first on Green Prophet.

Artificial turf was sold as a low-maintenance dream for dry climate cities like Los Angeles, Dubai, and Tel Aviv: no mowing, no mud, no watering. But for many homeowners, it is starting to look more like a plastic trap. It is leaking microplastics which are a health and eco-hazard. Biohacker Bryan Johnson spoke about the need to get rid of his astroturf for health reasons, but how?

Synthetic grass can get dangerously hot in the sun, cause skin burns, trap chemical dust, and shed microplastics into your soil and drains and these also end up in our air and bodies. Many products also contain crumb rubber infill made from recycled tires, along with plastic fibers and backing materials that do not belong in a healthy backyard.

For families with kids, pets, or anyone trying to build a cleaner outdoor space, removing old astroturf is one of the simplest ways to reduce unnecessary exposure to plastics and heat. Some past studies suggest that if kids have played on these surfaces you need to wash their hands.

The good news is that you do not need to turn your yard into a construction zone, as getting rid of artificial turf is a sooner the better idea. You just need to remove it carefully, contain the mess, and dispose of it responsibly.

5 simple tips to safely remove astroturf from your yard

1. Pick a cool, dry day

Do not remove turf in extreme heat or on a windy day. Hot turf releases more dust and becomes harder to handle. Wind can spread loose fibers and crumb rubber around your yard and into drains.

2. Wear gloves, shoes, and a mask

Old turf can contain dust, rubber particles, sharp staples, sand, and degraded plastic fibers. Wear: work gloves, closed shoes or boots, long sleeves and wear an N95 or dust mask if the turf is old or crumbly. Keep the kids and pets away while you work.

3. Roll it up slowly, don’t rip it apart

Cut the turf into manageable strips with a sharp utility knife if it’s large. Roll each strip carefully instead of dragging it across the yard. This helps stop plastic fibers, infill, and backing crumbs from spreading into your soil. If there is black crumb rubber or sand infill, use a shovel and broom to gather it first before rolling.

4. Bag the loose plastic and vacuum the area if the turf is on a hard surface. If it’s on sand or earth sweep or rake visible plastic bits and use a shop vacuum for small fibers and rubber crumbs. Better to collect some sand with the plastic bits using a shop vac. Collect debris into heavy-duty contractor bags

Do not hose the area down aggressively. That can push microplastics deeper into soil or into storm drains or into your backyard to keep emerging years later. Wait for a week or too. Natural air flow should gather some of the plastic fragments at corners for you to sweep away and contain.

5. Don’t burn it or dump it illegally

It’s not asbestos so you don’t need to bring it to a biohazard site. A local dump will do, or ask your city what to do and how to mark it if they do collection. Never burn artificial turf. It can release toxic, plastic fumes. And do not cut it into tiny pieces and throw it loosely into regular trash if you can avoid it.

Instead:

Ask your municipal waste center if they accept artificial turf. Check for construction and demolition waste disposal sites near you. Ask local landscaping or junk-haul companies if they handle turf removal. If the turf is newer, ask the installer or manufacturer if they have a take-back or recycling option for what you’ve pulled up.

Some places treat artificial turf as bulky plastic or construction waste, not regular yard waste.

How to reduce microplastics left behind from astroturf 

You probably will not remove every last plastic fiber, but you can reduce what remains. Try this simple cleanup plan:

• Hand-rake gently to collect visible fragments
• Shop-vac hard surfaces like patios, pavers, and edges
• Remove the top layer of contaminated infill or dust if there’s a heavy buildup
• Add fresh compost and mulch to help cover and stabilize remaining particles
• Replant with groundcovers, native plants, clover, gravel, or permeable stone

If the turf sat there for years, replacing the top few centimeters of soil in high-use areas may also help, especially where children played barefoot.

What should replace astroturf?

The best replacement depends on your climate, but healthier choices include:

• native drought-tolerant plants
• clover or low-water living groundcovers
• mulch play areas
• permeable pavers
• gravel with shade trees
• tiled or shaded courtyard spaces

The smartest yard is not the greenest-looking one. It is the one that stays cooler, drains properly, and supports life instead of shedding plastic.

The post How to safely remove astroturf and plastics from your backyard appeared first on Green Prophet.

Is artificial turf bad for your health? Artificial turf, the green plastic surface designed to look like grass, has been sold to homeowners as a clever compromise: a green-looking yard without mowing. It survives heavy use and, in dry places like the Middle East, California, or Texas, it can replace thirsty lawns. Yeah it paints a nice verdant green cover in dry places or under trees where the grass won’t grow, but if you start using it, it’s function is just tricking your eyes.

Related: how to safely remove artificial turf from your backyard

But the evidence points to a more inconvenient truth we’ve known all along. Synthetic grass can bring real health and environmental trade-offs.

Some risks are immediate and obvious. Artificial turf can run dramatically hotter than natural grass in full sun, increasing the risk of heat stress, dehydration, blistering, and burns to your skin. Real grass respires and releases moisture throughout the day. Plastic grass does not. Field measurements and reviews have repeatedly found synthetic surfaces can become dangerously hot, especially in direct sunlight. A 2024 study in Frontiers in Sustainable Cities noted that artificial turf can reach very high surface temperatures and worsen urban heat island effects. They’ve even proposed ways for cooling it down in cities using water, the very thing that astroturf was designed to solve.

A 2025 evidence summary from Canada’s National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health reached similar conclusions, highlighting heat, skin abrasions, and exposure concerns. “Human exposure to chemicals from artificial turf playing fields can be reduced by washing hands and avoiding infill and fibre ingestion by infants and children,” they write. Is that something we want kids playing on?

Even Bryan Johnson, the longevity entrepreneur known for trying to optimize every aspect of his life so he can live forever, recently posted on X: “Guys, I’m an idiot. All this time I’ve spent trying not to die, I had toxic turf in my backyard.” He added that artificial turf contains crumb rubber infill made from recycled tires. His phrasing was dramatic, but the underlying point stands: you can spend heavily on health while surrounding yourself with industrial plastics.

He wrote:

“Artificial turf contains crumb rubber infill made from recycled tires, which leaches chemicals including PFAS, heavy metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These compounds are linked to hormone disruption, carcinogenicity, and systemic inflammation. I don’t know how I missed it. It makes me question my basic competence in life. What gets me is that I try so hard to survey the world of potential idiocy. Then I find out there’s a monument to idiocy sitting right in front of my face that I was blind to. I’m removing the turf, yet I’m still stuck with this seemingly unsolvable problem of how to not be an idiot.”

Then there are injury patterns. Several reviews have found that some lower-extremity injuries, especially certain non-contact injuries, may be more common on artificial turf than on well-maintained natural grass, though results vary by sport, footwear, and field condition. Sliding on astroturf can cause turf burns, which are not only painful but can become infected if not treated properly. Children and athletes are particularly exposed, as they fall, slide, and breathe close to these surfaces.

The harder question is chemical exposure. Many synthetic fields use crumb rubber infill made from recycled tires. A growing body of research shows these materials can contain metals, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, PFAS, and other chemicals of concern. A 2024 systematic review in Environmental Health Insights and a study by the NIH found potentially hazardous concentrations of chemicals in turf infill and fibres, with exposure pathways raising concern, especially for children.

The NIH writes, “Cancer risks were identified for ingestion exposure to PAH in children with pica and heavy metal exposure via dermal, inhalation and ingestion pathways. Non-carcinogenic risks were identified for the ingestion of cobalt in a child spectator and the ingestion of arsenic, cobalt, thallium and zinc. Potentially hazardous concentrations of chemicals were found across both artificial turf infill and artificial turf fibre samples; bioaccessibility of these chemicals varied.”

A 2022 review in Environmental Pollution was more direct, concluding that chemicals identified in artificial turf include known carcinogens, mutagens, and endocrine disruptors, while noting that human evidence remains limited and under-studied.

It would be false to say science has definitively proven that artificial turf causes cancer in everyday users. It has not. Science is methodical and slow, and long-term effects take years to measure. But it would also be false to say the issue is settled or harmless. Even the US EPA’s crumb rubber research effort, updated in 2024, did not conclude there was no risk; it characterized exposures and acknowledged that a full risk assessment is still incomplete. In plain terms: chemicals are present, exposure happens, and long-term health impacts are not fully understood.

The ecological problem of astroturf

Artificial turf is essentially a plastic carpet. It sheds fibers and dust that can enter drains, soils, and waterways, contributing to microplastic pollution. It also seals the ground. Natural grass supports soil life, cools the air, and participates in ecological cycles. Plastic turf does not. It does not cool like vegetation, does not support biodiversity, and does not age well. When it wears out, disposal becomes another environmental problem.

In arid cities, synthetic turf is often marketed as a “green” alternative to water-hungry lawns. But replacing one ecological problem with a heat-trapping plastic surface is not real progress.

Alternatives include native planting, shaded courtyards, permeable surfaces, gravel, regional groundcovers, and climate-appropriate design.

Artificial turf is not automatically poisoning everyone who touches it, but it is not a neutral surface either. Plant local species, use permeable materials, and design for life—not plastic.

Related Green Prophet reading:
Microplastics in plastic aligners
Qatar’s World Cup groundwork and the logic of synthetic surfaces
More Green Prophet coverage on microplastics

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“Our study reveals the growing trend of synthetic opioid use in communities and our non-invasive approach to detect these emerging drugs, helping public health officials to respond more effectively and shape informed policies,” explains Ramesh Sapkota, an author of the study.

Opioid drugs including oxycodone, heroin and fentanyl have fueled an ever-worsening epidemic in the US. And after giant events in New Orleans they are popping up in the wastewater.

Synthetic opioids such as nitazenes are emerging as new drugs that are being misused. Nitazenes were first developed as an alternative to morphine in the 1950s but carried too high an overdose risk for clinical use. However, they re-emerged in the illicit drug market around 2019. And although they frequently appear in overdose-related deaths, not all jurisdictions are monitoring for them yet.

For example, Louisiana’s Department of Health reported that 46% of overdose deaths in 2023 were caused by opioids, but none officially report nitazene involvement, contradicting the national trends reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And their most commonly found nitazene analogue, metonitazene, is 1,000 times more potent than morphine.

To monitor this emerging risk, Sapkota, Emilia Lomnicki and Bikram Subedi turned to a method that could provide near real-time, non-invasive results: wastewater monitoring. They say this is the first time that this technique has been used to track several nitazene compounds in municipal wastewater.

The researchers specifically focused on the period surrounding and including the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Jan. 23 to March 31, 2025) and collected a total of 28 samples from a treatment plant estimated to serve nearly 300,000 people. The analyses detected seven of the nine nitazenes down to trace levels in wastewater. And their most commonly found nitazene analogue, metonitazene, is 1,000 times more potent than morphine. Surprisingly, some analogues were found at similar levels during the week of the big events and the week after, and some were only found after Mardi Gras had concluded.

These estimates do not provide insight into the consumption rate of nitazene analogues because the excretion rates of these drugs must be understood first. However, early detection of these dangerous substances is incredibly important, especially during high-traffic events like those studied here.

“With this knowledge, valuable insight into the evolving dynamics of the overdose crisis is gained, and a discussion on public health responses to combat these illicit drugs and prevent further loss of life is opened,” concludes Lomnicki.

Wastewater treatment facilities do not adequately filter drugs and chemicals from drinking water and tap water. While some studies show high removal rates (>90%) for certain drugs, others indicate that many opioids, particularly synthetic ones, pass through standard treatment, leading to their release into environmental waters. 

The post What we find in New Orleans tap water after Mardi Gras appeared first on Green Prophet.

A new female starchitect on the rise? BM Studios is an architectural firm bridging the East and the West. In this article, Balsam Madi shares her approach to climate sensitive design and discusses the role of architects today.

In the UAE, architects often have more influence than they realize, particularly at the early, conceptual stages of a project. How do they weigh that responsibility? How is the role of architects today influencing climate sensitive design? We speak with Balsam Madi from BM Studios to learn more.

Architectural teams are typically structured into distinct roles as concept architects, design development teams, specifiers, and project managers. But these roles frequently operate in silos, especially within large corporations, she tells Green Prophet.

Design managers, who liaise across teams and maintain continuity, are still relatively rare. This hierarchy has a direct impact on sustainability outcomes, notes the young, aspirational architect working between Berlin and Dubai at the firm she founded, BM Studios.

In Balsam’s former role as a senior lead designer at KEO, sustainability was not an add-on, she says, it was embedded in her responsibility. She was expected to introduce cultural research, emerging design trends, sustainable strategies, and even AI-driven methodologies into the workflow. Knowledge transfer was central to her role: staying ahead of global conversations and translating them into locally relevant design decisions.

Sustainability entered most powerfully during the concept phase, which she was leading, through storytelling. She reinterpreted vernacular architectural techniques using contemporary aesthetics that clients respond to today, while quietly embedding passive strategies, climate intelligence, and material efficiency. Referencing comparable cities and precedents helped position sustainability not as a risky experiment, but as a proven and aspirational solution.

She also naturally stepped into a design management role, coordinating day-to-day processes, aligning design development teams, specifications, and material research. Early decisions around modularity, prefabrication, and low-impact construction often made the biggest difference, long before sustainability became a checklist. This coordination allowed quality assurance throughout costing and specification stages—precisely where silos often form and opportunities for design integrity and sustainability are lost.

As independent practitioners, architects become translators, strategists, and sometimes marketeers of sustainability, not superficially, but by demonstrating how responsible design enhances value, longevity, and relevance.

After leaving the corporate world and working independently, she found more freedom to advocate for these ideas, she tells Green Prophet. As independent practitioners, architects become translators, strategists, and sometimes marketeers of sustainability, not superficially, but by demonstrating how responsible design enhances value, longevity, and relevance. They are expected to do it all!

Over the next decade, architects who can bridge vision, systems, and persuasion will shape the industry far more than those focused on form alone, she says. Having knowledge about LEED-building, or Estidama Pearls isn’t enough.

Where Architects Truly Influence Sustainability

Landscape design for a private Dubai client. Balsam Madi.

Architects genuinely influence sustainability at three critical points: concept design, advisory roles, and spatial intelligence. The greatest constraint, however, remains resistance to change.

Balsam once proposed a flexible housing strategy inspired by open-building principles and early Japanese residential models, homes designed to evolve with families rather than forcing families to adapt to rigid layouts. The concept was profitable, socially progressive, and sustainable, yet it was not well received. The real estate sector, despite its creative veneer, often prefers familiarity over innovation.

Some of her most successful sustainability-driven typologies—projects that doubled developer yields—were led by developers who were architects themselves. Leadership mindset matters. Sustainability is not just about trees or technology; it’s about designing spaces that perform socially, economically, and environmentally over decades.

Cultural constraints also play a role. Ambition in the Middle East region is high, but often paired with impatience. Limited time for research, testing, and long-term planning undermines sustainable outcomes. Developers who have truly excelled invested in R&D and allowed innovation to mature, positioning themselves with distinct value propositions.

Architects also influence sustainability through advisory work: optimizing layouts for waste management, connecting developers with recycling or composting partners, and improving operational efficiency through better planning. These opportunities are frequently missed, often due to a narrow procurement mindset focused on either lowest cost or premium solutions, with little space in between.

Quality is another issue. First-time developers sometimes hire very young firms to reduce costs, resulting in poor layouts and dysfunctional living spaces. Sustainability, at its core, is systems thinking. When treated as isolated gestures rather than an integrated framework, it loses both meaning and impact.

From Designing Form to Designing Systems

Balsam says she loves concept design, “the iterative process, the moment when an idea clicks and demands to be built. That creative spark is sacred. But today, AI can generate iterations faster than entire teams once could. This raises an important question: if machines can explore form, what is the architect’s true value?

“For me, the answer is systems thinking and orchestration. Architecture is no longer about isolated objects; it’s about aligning structure, MEP, HVAC, materials, construction sequencing, and long-term operation from day one. Certifications like LEED touch on this, but the principle runs deeper. Designing holistically from the start avoids waste, redesign, and inefficiency later.

“One of my engineering management professors once said architects are ‘artists with rulers’ and ‘conductors of the construction orchestra.’ We don’t play every instrument, but we understand how they work together. That ability to coordinate, adapt, and guide is irreplaceable.

“This is why my practice spans architecture, interiors, landscape, and product design. Design is a universal language. If you can take an idea from concept to execution in one medium, you can do it in many. The future architect is a systems leader, strategist, and coach—someone who maintains the big picture while navigating complexity with clarity,” she tells Green Prophet.

“As a result, I developed a sustainability arm within my practice that connects businesses, end users, and service providers working on sustainable products. This includes integrating sustainable MEP systems and sensors into high-end heritage spaces—design work that is less conceptual and more coordination-driven, yet increasingly in demand as architecture moves beyond a unilateral definition.

Climate, Materials, and the UAE Context

If you are developing a dream in the UAE, “the biggest challenges in the UAE are climate and infrastructure, particularly mobility,” says Balsam.  “While Dubai’s metro is efficient, many communities lack shaded walkways, green corridors, and pedestrian-friendly design. This disproportionately affects lower-income areas and creates daily stress.”

Materially, many buildings are not designed for long-term exposure to heat and humidity, she notes. “Façades and systems often deteriorate within 20 years, reducing value and increasing vacancy. Rather than resisting the region’s appetite for renovation, we should specify materials with strong life-cycle performance, recyclability, and adaptability. Outdoor construction, in particular, needs stricter material guidelines. Initiatives like Colab in D3 advocate for sustainable material use, but ultimately this requires leadership-level commitment.

“Too often, sustainability manifests as confusion at the operational level and box-ticking at the corporate level. When it becomes jargon detached from empathy and responsibility, it loses credibility. Real change starts with environmental literacy and a shared sense of stewardship for place.”

Beyond Ratings: An Ethical Foundation

Balsam tells us, that there is a growing disconnect between global sustainability agendas and on-the-ground impact. While conferences consume enormous budgets, grassroots sustainability startups, the true innovators, often struggle to survive without access to capital.

Certifications and data have their place, she says, but when sustainability becomes bookkeeping rather than belief, skepticism follows, particularly around topics like Net Zero. “An ethical, zero-harm intention recenters sustainability around empathy—toward nature, communities, and future generations.

“When intention leads, capital can be distributed more holistically, allowing ecosystems to thrive across all roles, from change-makers to policymakers.”

About Balsam Madi, Founder of BM Studios

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It seems like a no-brainer, but sometimes you need to give evidence to city councillors: A new multi-institutional study led by UC Davis Health suggests that not all green space is created equal. Living in urban neighborhoods with more visible trees is associated with a 4% lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, while areas dominated by grass or low shrubs may be linked to higher cardiovascular risk.

The research, published in Environmental Epidemiology, analyzed more than 350 million street-level images using machine learning to distinguish between trees, grass, and other types of vegetation. The findings challenge long-held assumptions that simply adding “green space” to cities is enough to improve public health.

“Public health interventions should prioritize the preservation and planting of tree canopies,” said Peter James, associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Public Health Sciences and lead author of the study. “Urban forestry initiatives and policies that protect mature trees are likely to yield greater cardiovascular health benefits than investments in grass planting.”

Related: AI scientists from MIT get a map of a city’s trees

Why trees outperform lawns

Unlike satellite imagery, which often lumps all vegetation into one category, the researchers used street-level images—similar to what pedestrians see via platforms like Google Street View—to capture real neighborhood conditions. Deep-learning models identified trees, grass, sidewalks, cars, and other features, creating a granular picture of urban environments.

Those visual data were then linked to nearly 89,000 participants in the long-running Nurses’ Health Study, tracking 18 years of medical records and death certificates. The results were striking: More visible trees → 4% lower cardiovascular disease incidence

More grass → 6% higher incidence: Other green vegetation (shrubs, bushes) → 3% higher incidence

The protective effect of trees held steady even after accounting for air pollution, population density, regional differences, and neighborhood socioeconomic status.

Researchers suspect the negative associations with grass may be linked to pesticide use, emissions and dust from from mowing equipment, reduced cooling capacity, and weaker noise and air-pollution filtering compared to trees.

With cardiovascular disease responsible for over 900,000 deaths annually in the U.S.—nearly one in three deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—even small shifts matter.

“This opens a promising avenue: improving heart health through community-level environmental change, not just individual behavior,” said Eric B. Rimm, professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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Quentin Tarantino lives in Israel now, quietly blending into Tel Aviv life (which is pretty loud and late night!) — until Tel Aviv, of course, notices him.

This week the city spotted Tarantino walking in a bike lane and turned the moment into a public teaching joke, reminding residents that even cinematic legends must obey urban etiquette. The post went viral with the line: “Let’s make this clear right now: Unless you’ve made at least two masterpieces and permanently changed the face of film forever and ever — do not walk on the bike lane.”

It was classic Tel Aviv humor: irreverent, civic-minded, and oddly affectionate. Most citizens do not have patience though for the lawlessness of electric bike riders.

We should note that bike lanes are important. Not long ago an eco-activist was killed on her scooter on her way to pick up her kid from pre-school.

Eco concrete entrepreneur killed on electric scooter

Quintin has little kids of his own and has spoken often about finding calm and inspiration in Israel, has become part of the city’s cultural landscape.

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Strong infrastructure depends on dependable safety barriers that keep people, property, and equipment protected. Every project, from roadways to construction zones, needs barriers that balance strength, flexibility, and long-term performance. Finding trustworthy concrete barrier suppliers helps projects stay safe, organized, and cost-efficient from start to finish.

As new designs and materials shape the future of public and private construction, knowing which systems deliver consistent results becomes more important. This article explores leading concrete barrier options on the market today and explains how each type supports modern infrastructure goals.

48 Barriers Concrete Barriers

48 Barriers supplies durable concrete products designed for highway, construction, and property use. Their selection includes Jersey barriers, K-Rails, bin blocks, and planters. These products help organize traffic flow, define boundaries, and add stability to various site layouts.

For teams focused on safety and durability, reliable concrete barriers for modern projects support long-term infrastructure goals. The company offers both new and used styles to fit different project budgets. Each barrier meets practical demands for public and private spaces without unnecessary design complexity.

Customers across the country depend on these barriers for traffic control and perimeter protection. The option to choose between sizes and finishes makes it easier to match project standards. Reliable delivery and straightforward service help contractors complete jobs on time and with fewer logistical delays.

Hardstaff Barriers Multibloc TVCB

The Hardstaff Multibloc TVCB offers a solid solution for roads, construction sites, and site security. Each barrier measures about 3 meters long and weighs around 2.5 tonnes, giving it stability under heavy use. It uses reinforced concrete and interlocking joints that allow secure placement in different layouts.

This system meets EN 1317 standards for temporary safety barriers and holds N2/W3 containment approval. It also features threaded sockets that allow flexible use along verges or central reserves. The design supports both workforce protection and vehicle containment on modern highways.

Contractors often choose the Multibloc TVCB for projects that need quick setup and adaptable layouts. Its modular sections can be installed or relocated without complex equipment. As a result, it helps maintain safe work zones while keeping traffic disruption minimal.

REBLOC Concrete Barrier Systems

REBLOC designs and produces modern vehicle restraint systems made from durable precast concrete. The company focuses on safety and efficiency by creating barriers that meet strict performance standards in road and bridge construction. Each barrier unit connects securely to form a stable line that helps reduce vehicle intrusion during impact.

These systems allow fast installation with minimal disruption to traffic. The modular design also supports both temporary and permanent applications, which makes them suitable for highways, tunnels, and construction zones. Their compact form requires less space while still meeting high safety levels.

REBLOC barriers often feature a long service life, helping infrastructure projects meet long-term design goals. They can also integrate with different terminals and access points, giving engineers flexibility in layout and function. As a result, many projects use REBLOC systems to meet modern safety requirements while maintaining practical site operations.

Bohlmann Linkable Concrete Barriers

Bohlmann produces linkable concrete barriers that support both safety and adaptability in infrastructure projects. Each unit connects securely with others, giving job sites a solid layout that stays stable under demanding conditions. The linkable design allows crews to create longer protective lines with less effort.

These barriers come in multiple sizes and can be adjusted in height or finish to meet project standards. Their construction uses high-quality concrete that provides strength for roadways, parking areas, and industrial zones. Forklift knockouts allow for quick placement or removal, which helps reduce setup time.

Many buyers choose Bohlmann barriers because they combine durability with a clean appearance. Decorative options such as color stains or specific aggregate textures make them suitable for public spaces as well as commercial settings. As a result, they serve as both a safety measure and a structural feature that supports the overall function of modern infrastructure projects.

Jensen Infrastructure Safety Barriers

Jensen Infrastructure designs and produces safety barriers that meet modern engineering standards. The company focuses on creating durable precast concrete products that support safe roadways and secure construction zones. Each barrier follows strict quality guidelines to meet the needs of public, commercial, and government projects.

Its safety barriers serve highways, bridges, and industrial sites where steady traffic control is required. They help reduce risks for drivers and workers by guiding vehicle flow and providing separation between lanes or work areas. In addition, these barriers assist with site organization to maintain smooth movement throughout projects.

Jensen Infrastructure continues to expand its product line with solutions that reflect current infrastructure demands. The company applies tested design methods to produce barriers that handle pressure and resist wear over time. These features make the barriers a dependable choice for agencies and contractors focused on safety and long-term performance.

Conclusion

Concrete barriers play a key role in safer and more efficient infrastructure projects. Their solid structure helps guide traffic, protect properties, and reduce impact damage in both public and private areas.

Projects that use precast concrete units gain faster setup, uniform quality, and longer service life. These features save time and lower maintenance costs over the project’s life. In addition, modern design options allow barriers to match urban layouts without losing strength.

Selecting a dependable supplier matters. Contractors should assess material quality, compliance with safety standards, and performance history before purchase.

In short, concrete barriers combine strength, durability, and design flexibility to support safer and more organized infrastructure development.

The post Where to Find Reliable Concrete Barriers for Modern Infrastructure Projects appeared first on Green Prophet.

In November 2025, entrepreneur Nahum Rosenberger announced plans to develop Israel’s most expensive urban renewal project at the Hasbon (Hesbon) complex in central Jerusalem. The project, with an estimated investment of NIS 3.6 billion (about $1 billion USD), will span about 7 acres and include three high-rise towers of 41, 43, and 45 floors, comprising approximately 950 residential apartments.

Beyond housing, the development will feature extensive mixed-use components, including 8,600 square meters of retail space, 8,300 square meters of office and employment space, around 6,100 square meters of hotel use, and underground parking. Large areas will be dedicated to public use, reflecting the city’s priorities.

The urban renewal is being managed by Eden, Jerusalem Municipality’s economic development arm. Public-benefit allocations will include a 4,300-square-meter library, auditorium, and laboratories, four kindergarten classrooms, three daycare classrooms, a 600-square-meter synagogue, an 1,800-square-meter sports hall, and a 10-dunam public park. Some of the photos released by the developer are shown here.

The project is designed by the internationally renowned Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, in collaboration with Danish architect Jan Gehl, known for people-centered urban design. The local architectural firm is MAARCS, with landscape architecture by Urbanof (Orbanof), led by Lior Levinger.

Once a historic cigarette factory, the Hasbon complex is being transformed into a new, vibrant community and cultural hub in the heart of Jerusalem, aiming to create an innovative urban space that connects community life, culture, and the city center, according to the city, but Israeli-Greek architect Elias Mesinas sees things differently. He writes:

Jerusalem is a city whose urban identity was shaped over centuries through a balance between sacred sites, preserved skylines, and community-driven discussion. Today, that balance is being tested. At Hasbon compound, a proposal for a 50-storey three tower luxury development has triggered more than 200 objections from the local community concerned about the project’s scale, shadows, and long-term impact on public space. The issue is not whether Jerusalem should build or densify, but how it should do so, and for whom.

The city inherited from the British Mandate era three “red lines” in planning: protection of the skyline, building in stone, and preserving the valleys. As the city expanded westward with distinctive garden-city neighborhoods, and to the east with massive, dense but low-rise residential complexes, these principles ensured visual harmony with the Old City and the historic neighborhoods and landscapes and a sense of place for the local community. Recent urban-renewal policies — driven by seismic-risk mitigation (Tama 38), demographic projections for population growth, and mass-transit expansion — have challenged these constraints. The result has been a gradual acceptance of planning and zoning schemes previously considered unthinkable for the city, leading to a wave of approvals for high-density high-rise redevelopment for luxury living rather than affordable units, threatening to push long-time residents out of historic neighborhoods through ‘gentrification.’

Over the past three decades, Jerusalem’s Community Councils have played a critical role in engaging residents in planning processes and ensuring that the voice of the community is heard in planning committees. As someone who has served as an urban planner for one of these Councils, I have seen how local knowledge and civic involvement has improved plans, has protected open spaces and old trees, has increased public amenities, and has ensured that neighborhood character is considered.

Further, in 2023, community action even succeeded in rerouting the light rail planned blue line, to ensure that it does not harm the neighborhood but rather serves it. In the past, community advocacy has even succeeded in rejecting international ‘trophy projects,’ from Frank Gehry’s Tolerance Museum to Moshe Safdie’s residential plan in the Judean Hills, and in 2023, MVRDV’s proposal for the President’s Hotel site in historic Talbieh neighborhood: although significantly reduced in height after strong neighborhood objections — a case in which I personally delivered the community’s position to planners and the design team, ultimately, it was canceled and the property sold to another developer.

This context is essential for understanding the current Hasbon Square controversy. The site’s planning history began with approval for a single 30-storey tower on the old Pazgaz building in 2021. Over the years, through amendments and increasing developer ambitions, the proposal expanded into a three-tower scheme that now aims to also occupy land of Meir Sherman park – part of Independence park – a public park since 1921. Despite the impressive portfolio of the international teams involved — including architects MVRDV and urban planner Jan Gehl — the plan raises substantive planning concerns, and community objections, primarily about quality public space.

The community objects to the loss of meaningful public space. A significant portion of existing green area – Meir Sherman park – is proposed for development. The remaining open space would spend much of the year in shade due to the towers’ half-kilometer-long shadow — one projected to reach in the afternoon near the Old City walls less than 800 meters away. A public space without sunlight risks becoming symbolic rather than usable, inviting and pleasant.

The community objects to private sky courts labelled as public but inaccessible. Private elevated courtyards dramatically increase the project’s volume and height. Although described in the project documents as ‘public amenities’, these spaces are in fact private, for use by the development tenants only, leaving the local community with only a minimal share of accessible public use — around three percent, and a significantly bigger project.

The community raises objections about a compromised public square, the proposed plaza that sits behind tall structures that block sunlight and intensify winds, raising doubts about whether it will function as a comfortable civic space in Jerusalem’s microclimate, as intended.

The community also objects to surpassing the already dominated skyline of the historic city with high rise development planned or under construction. Breaking the existing policy with a 50-storey development, threatens to further compromise both the city skyline – visible from the public and open spaces in the city.

The development raises concerns about a high-end real-estate venture that maximizes returns while offering thin layers of “green” or “public” features. The Hasbon project proposed greenery on terraces 50 floors up does not inherently make the project “green,” nor does it justify expanding building rights or increasing the built volume. Similarly, branding shaded plazas as “vibrant” public spaces does not guarantee they will serve their intended users, given the environmental and micro-climatic conditions of public spaces dominated by high-risers. The project, as currently presented, does not adequately reconcile developer objectives with Jerusalem’s civic, environmental, and cultural needs.

This no doubt is a moment of decision. As the objection period comes to a close, the community’s message is consistent and measured: the question is not whether to build, but how to build responsibly and in a way that serves the city and the community. Jerusalem needs seismic reinforcement, affordable housing, and quality public space. But it also needs to preserve the values that make it one of the world’s most cherished cities. Good urban development can achieve both — respecting community, climate, heritage, and daily life.

Jerusalem has repeatedly shown that planning is strongest when residents, professionals, and decision-makers work collaboratively and all voices are heard. The Hasbon development offers an opportunity to reaffirm this approach. A project of this scale should enhance its surroundings, not overwhelm them; it should give more to the city than it takes. The city of Jerusalem and the local community deserve nothing less.

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