Tony Cho 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.
Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand, the Japanese scientists say.
What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.
Tony Cho 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.
Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand, the Japanese scientists say.
What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.
Tony Cho 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.
Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand, the Japanese scientists say.
What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.
Tony Cho 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.
Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand, the Japanese scientists say.
What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.
Tony Cho 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.
Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand, the Japanese scientists say.
What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.
Tony Cho 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.
Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand, the Japanese scientists say.
What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.
Tony Cho 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.
Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand, the Japanese scientists say.
What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.
Tony Cho 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.
Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand, the Japanese scientists say.
What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.
Local press and environmentalists in Egypt claim that the unofficial garbage workers of Cairo – the Zabaleen – are being sidestepped by President Mohamed Morsi’s Clean Homeland campaign, which resolves to solve the country’s overwhelming garbage issue within 100 days.
This was a dangerous promise to make given that so many of the systems required for effective waste management have long since eroded in the capital (if they ever existed.) Meanwhile, the Zabaleen have been keeping Cairo from being completely buried by waste – all of their own accord – by collecting, recycling and sorting what they can. But the importance of the service they provide has long been overlooked by government.
Try something a little different than plain-old tomato sauce on your pasta. Try tahini!
On my first night CouchSurfing in Haifa, Israel, in the cozy apartment of a young married couple, the three of us sat down, along with a local friend, at the table on the balcony to eat dinner – which, surprisingly, the men had prepared from start to finish, while the wife and I relaxed. There were more surprises to be had.
The meal was a nice pasta stir fry. I served myself a portion, and it was delicious, but little did I know that it would get better. The husband whipped out a bottle of organic roasted sesame tahini and started pouring some over his helping. Intrigued, although not expecting to fall in love with the combination, I tried some myself. I proved myself wrong; I fell head-over-heels in love. I love pasta, and I love tahini, so why did I think I wouldn’t love them together? Like strawberries and balsamic vinegar, or watermelon and feta, this unlikely food pairing turned out to be delectable.
Israel’s Mediterranean city of Bat Yam is pulling itself out of obscurity with one of the most unusual art spaces we’ve seen. Located just south of Tel Aviv – the country’s most well-known seaside city, the Riviera used to be a thumping nightclub in the 1950s and 1960s. Now it’s a very yellow and open industrial-chic art colony and public gallery that features a sea sand floor and some seriously gritty street art.
Rosé wine is gaining global popularity. Did you know that the Middle East with its long history of wine-making is producing some great rosés of its own?
The summer heat is upon us and if you’ve been smart you’re perfecting those non-cook recipes to beat the heat. If you like a glass of wine here and there, a good companion to a cold soup, salad, or Middle East mezze is a summer favorite – rose wine. If you’re a Muslim and don’t drink alcohol look for a non-alcoholic variety to suit your palette. Similarly our Jewish readers will find something to suit their taste in shops that cater to the kosher market. Today we’re going to look at 4 rosé wines made in the Middle East.
Honest By’s “transparent” green fashions leave nothing to hide
Going to the mall or outlet store to buy clothing is not the greenest thing one can do when the truth is known about what materials the clothing is made out of, as well as where and how it is made. Much of this clothing, even top line name brands, is often made in poorer locations such as rural China, Bangladesh, India, and other places where environmentally damaging dyes are used and clothing is sewn together by people working in sweat-shop and even slave labor conditions.
It’s inevitable that even the best of automobiles will eventually find their way to the junkyard, but to Ronen Tinman, that needn’t be a death sentence. Determined to make use of “every ounce” of the materials that went into making BMWs, Citroens, Toyotas and Kawasakis, the Israeli designer relies on his mechanical engineering background to turn even the dinkiest of dented hoods, trunks, wheels, doors and disc brakes into bespoke lamps, chests, hall tables and cabinets.
Summer’s in its last laps: a new school year’s looming. Green up the school day with 10 easy tips
Wherever you live around the world, it’s probably time to start the school year at the end of the summer. Here are some tips to pass on to parents with kids. They’re also good for high-school and college kids to follow.
1. Put the word out on Facebook or Craigslist or Freecycle that you’re in the market for staplers, rulers and scissors: bet you’ll be rained on with a “loaves and fishes” appearance of everyone’s extra office supplies. If you must buy, check out biodegradable pencils and vintage refillable fountain pens.
The patriarchal kingdom of Saudi Arabia creates an all-female city where (the arguably better half) of humanity can work freely, within Islamic guidelines.
Saudi Arabia has an increasingly educated female population, but its ultraconservative interpretation of Wahabi sharia law and rigid tribal customs forbid women from interacting with men. The upshot is chronic female unemployment. An utterly Saudi solution is underway. Why shift cultural mores, when, instead, you can raise up a completely new, self-sustaining city that will be fully devoid of men? The pilot project will go live in 2012 in the Eastern Province city of Hofuf. Smaller “ladies-only” communities will then pop up in capital city Riyadh.
According to scientists from Canada and the Netherlands, the world is depleting underground water reserves faster than they can be replenished
In the Middle East, water shortages are a widely accepted reality which many countries are trying to fight head on. Worldwide, however, the issue is not so pressing with environmental issues such as energy and emissions taking centre stage. Despite this, new research from McGill University in Montreal and Utrecht University in the Netherlands indicates that the world is increasingly dependent on an unsustainable supply of groundwater. They estimate that the world’s ‘water footprint’, which is defined as the area above ground required to sustain groundwater use, is about 3.5 times the actual area of the available aquifers. And this has huge implications not only on water supplies but for food and political security too.
Some of the most fashionable people on the planet, the Lebanese are also very concerned about what people think of them. But the lovely Yasmina Sawma of Tchensol is shaking things up a bit with an intriguing new line of re-purposed accessories. The trained interior architect converts LEGO pieces into chunky earrings and rings, strings stuffed grape leaves together into a bracelet and even chops off the tips of coloring pencils to make bright and cheerful rings.
World food prices soared over 6 percent in July according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. Prices are continuing to rise, and food security is already a constant threat in the West Bank and Gaza.
The Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem estimates that over half the households in Gaza are food insecure, and almost 80 percent of households in Gaza are reliant on relief support. The institute estimates there are up to 550,176 food insecure persons in the West Bank, 22 percent of the population, and 829,954 in the Gaza Strip, around 52 percent. In the West Bank, those living along the border and separation barrier experience higher levels of food insecurity. These dire circumstances need innovative, domestic solutions.
Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, landed on Monday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He continued on to Uganda and Kenya, where he will inaugurate two Israeli-cooperation projects in agriculture and health. According to Gil Haskel, Israel’s ambassador to Uganda, the Jewish state is interested in strengthening agricultural cooperation and collaboration with Uganda.
Agriculture and water are becoming the foundation for a new era of Israeli relations with African states.
Over the weekend, two earthquakes measuring 6.3 and 6.4 on the richter scale hit the country’s east Azerbaijan province, killing at least 360 people and displacing and injuring thousands more.
Most of these casualties occurred because poorly-constructed buildings made with cheap materials collapsed, according to Kaveh Samiei, principal architect at AAG and a lecturer at Semnan University, crushing their inhabitants.
Leading causes of earthquake casualties
The Iranian authorities have been criticized for their emergency response to the earthquakes over the weekend after search and rescue efforts were called off within less than 24 hours.
But the Foundation of Housing, a branch of the Roads and Urbanism ministry should also be held to account as the development of rural areas falls under their jurisdiction.
Yakhchal (Meybod), Yazd, Iran
The University of Tulane in the United States sites three main causes of high casualties in areas that are prone to earthquakes: a) population density, b) construction standards, and c) emergency preparedness.
Given that Iran is one of the most seismically-active areas in the world and that 126,000 people have been killed in earthquakes since 1900, the government should map fault lines and establish building codes accordingly.
“We can’t prevent earthquakes from happening,” Samiei told Green Prophet in an email interview, “but at least we can prevent the deaths of hundreds of people that are caused by collapsed buildings.”
Crushed by the earth in Bam, Iran
Bam Citadel, Iran
“If we can build safe and resistant structures, then we will decrease the rate of deaths and injuries,” he added.
Samiei explained that most rural Iranians live in buildings that have bulky walls and wooden ceilings that crush residents when large earthquakes strike.
“In the recent earthquake, almost all of the buildings that were damaged were constructed in this way. And exactly the same thing happened in Bam.”
“The experience of some countries like Japan shows that it is possible to construct safer buildings,” the architect continued. He said that the use of “lightweight” construction materials in Japan is a strategic approach that could be implemented in Iran, though he emphasized that technology should be supplemented with appropriate safety education and disaster preparedness.
Earthquake preparedness in earth buildings
The worst earthquake in recorded human history killed 830,000 people in 1556, according to Tulane researchers. Most of the casualties were living in wind-deposited silt and clay caves in Shaaxi, China.
Earth construction may be great for staying cool in hot climates and reducing waste of natural resources, but this kind of construction must be coupled with sophisticated engineering to ensure safety – especially along fault lines.
“In some parts of Iran it will be necessary to deconstruct nearly 100% of the existing buildings and plan a new village,” Samiei warns.
Sustainable public lighting is mandated in Abu Dhabi City.
Over 6,000 units of sustainable public lighting have been installed across Abu Dhabi’s capital, as part of three separate projects carried out over the past year, according to a statement released to Gulf News by the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City . The light fixtures conform to sustainability standards specified in Abu Dhabi emirate’s Sustainable Public Lighting Strategy. That program was decreed by the Department of Municipal Affairs, which oversees the municipality, along with Al Ain Municipality and the Western Region Municipality.
A new campaign attempts to stop a hunting deal in Tanzania forcing 48,000 members of Africa’s Maasai tribe off their land so Middle Eastern royalty can hunt lions and leopards in the Serengeti
The Middle East’s love affair with wild animals has hit the headlines again. No, there haven’t been sightings of cheetahs on the streets of Dubai or dead wolves and owls on parade, rather Middle Eastern royals are being accused of aiding a massive sell-off of the Serengeti. And in a new twist to the land-grab meme, this land sell-off is not to secure access to precious food supplies but, rather, to indulge in the hunting whims of the Middle East’s elite.
The campaigning group Avaaz has launched a online petition to ask Tanzania’s President Kikwete to reject the hunting corporation’s big deal and stop the sell-off of the Serengeti.
“The last time this same corporation pushed the Maasai off their land to make way for rich hunters, people were beaten by the police, their homes were burnt to a cinder and their livestock died of starvation” explains Avaaz via email to Green Prophet.
“But when a press controversy followed, Tanzanian President Kikwete reversed course and returned the Maasai to their land. This time, there hasn’t been a big press controversy yet, but we can change that and force Kikwete to stop the deal if we join our voices now.”
Oxfam, an international charity, also reported on the eviction which took place in July 2009 in Tanzania leaving nearly 2,000 people homeless. They aded that “two of the most infamous land conflicts are with Emirates hunting company Ortello Business Corporation and American-owned Thomson Safaris Ltd.”
As of August 13, more than 400,000 people had signed the petition in just 24 hours and Avaaz reported that President Kikwete’s inner circle was starting to react: “ a few hours ago, the President’s close confidante, Mr. January Makamba MP, tweeted saying he would send our voices to the President himself. Keep up the pressure by signing now and forwarding to others.”
The Maasai are semi-nomadic herders who have lived in Tanzania and Kenya for centuries, playing a critical role in preserving the delicate ecosystem and wildlife of the Serengeti. As such, a deal to evict the Maasai to make way for rich foreign hunters is as bad for wildlife as it is for the communities it would destroy.
Local press and environmentalists in Egypt claim that the unofficial garbage workers of Cairo – the Zabaleen – are being sidestepped by President Mohamed Morsi’s Clean Homeland campaign, which resolves to solve the country’s overwhelming garbage issue within 100 days.
