Generation Regeneration
Co-Designing the Future of Cities Through Regenerative Placemaking
WHY A BOOK?
Because I kept seeing the same pattern: people want to build regenerative projects, but they don’t share a common language. We get stuck in the same recycled debates—growth vs. preservation, culture vs. capital, competition vs. collaboration.
Inside the book you’ll find partners, principles, and demonstration projects—real-world examples that real people can learn from, adapt, and apply. The people who are actively planting the literal and metaphorical seeds of a new world.
“Cho offers practical solutions rooted in optimism and bold thinking, perfectly aligning with the challenges of our time. His work is essential reading for anyone who believes that our cities and communities can not only sustain us but regenerate us.”
—Peter H. Diamandis, New York Times bestselling author of Abundance
And this isn’t just for industry professionals. It’s for everyday residents and conscious citizens who know their neighborhood deserves better—and for leaders working to future-proof their cities. This book distills my life’s work in real estate into about 200 pages—but it wasn’t created in isolation. (And my Substack community will be getting the first looks inside ALL that’s to come!)
This book is the result of a four year collaborative process of research, listening, and co-design, shaped by experts from diverse backgrounds around the world, alongside my teams at Future of Cities. My intention is to share what I’ve learned—personally and professionally—while honoring the solutions and changemakers who have been stewarding the Regenerative Placemaking movement with me from the beginning.
“A complete and thorough introduction to the world of regenerative placemaking. Totally accessible to all, and a reminder that hope is far from lost for this planet as long as we have the right attitude, the right strategies, and the right people. Tony is one of them.”
—Donna Deegan, Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida
The goal is simple: share my learnings so anyone—from a stay-at-home parent to a school teacher to a community builder to a city mayor—can see themselves in it and use it.
“Before picking up Generation Regeneration, I didn’t realize how much our cities—and our lives—could be transformed by this revolutionary concept. Tony Cho breaks down complex ideas into something simple, accessible, and downright inspiring.”
—Vishen Lakhiani, founder of Mindvalley and New York Times bestselling author of The Code of the Extraordinary Mind
SUSTAINABILITY ISN’T THE FINISH LINE
There was a season of my life when “success” looked like a highlight reel.
Miami skylines rising. Neighborhoods transforming. The energy electric— shaped by lightning in a bottle momentum in the early days. I was immersed in the rapid current of it all: nightlife, real estate development, the art of spotting what’s next. And yet, beneath the glitz, something in me always had my sights set on sustainability.
For years, we’ve aimed for “less bad.” Less carbon. Less waste. That matters, AND it isn’t enough. It hasn’t captured the imagination of the world because it feels like a compromise, not a vision or an invitation into innovation.
Regeneration asks a bigger question (with a bigger challenge) which has been much more inspiring to me: What would it look like to co-create places that actively restore what has been depleted—ecologically, socially, culturally, economically?
20+ YEARS IN THE URBAN CORE OF MIAMI: FROM WYNWOOD TO LITTLE HAITI
My most impactful learnings haven’t come from a textbook or a college degree; they’ve been taught through 20+ years of trials and tribulations as a creative placemaker in Miami’s urban core.
I’ve seen the highs and the lows of urban transformation. From the early, gritty days of co-pioneering Wynwood to the complex cultural stewardship required in Little Haiti, I’ve navigated the friction of gentrification, the volatility of markets, and the exhaustion of working within a system designed for extraction.
A FRAMEWORK CO-CREATED BY A MOVEMENT
This journey has been mentored by Bill Reed, the godfather of LEED and co-founder of Regenesis Institute and the co-author of this book’s foreword alongside Dr. Dominique Hes, Tony Goldman and so many others. Bill and Dr. Hes helped me name what I had been feeling for years and guided my “aha” moment that creative placemaking isn’t enough if it isn’t regenerative. What they’ve helped me validate was a truth that I’ve felt deeply which often runs counter to the mainstream conversations being had in real estate circles: Cities aren’t just real estate assets. They’re living ecosystems—capable of true abundance when we design for life.
Our generation, and all those that follow, are inheriting overlapping crises. And we’re also inheriting a critically rare moment of possibility: a chance to stop asking, “How do we move and build faster?” to start asking, “How do we live & grow wiser?”
AN INVITATION FOR EVERY GENERATION
The word “generation” is meaningful here because this isn’t just about what we build in this lifetime. It’s about who we become while building and the energetic imprint we leave behind. A generation is a generator: it ignites change, catalyzes motion, energy, momentum… A MOVEMENT.
This book is really an invitation to all citizens to move from spectator to participant. For anyone who feels that the future won’t be built by accident. I wrote about my own experiences, my learnings, lessons and have also shared the works of those that have guided and inspired me on this path in hopes that it helps to spark the imaginations of the next generation into action for what comes beyond the real estate transaction…
“Tony Cho is a placemaking visionary who combines spiritual enlightenment, a mission to preserve the environment, and decades of real estate development success. He knows how to dream and really manifest it. This book is not only an excellent read but also offers insights and strategies we need to nurture both human happiness and planetary health. I’m a huge fan.”
—Dan Buettner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Zones, National Geographic fellow, and Emmy award-winning producer
It will be co-designed, by all of us. With nature, not against it. With culture, not over it. With community, not around it.
I want to honor all those who have joined me on this long road together as we continue our mission of regeneration and to all those who have helped de-pave and re-wild the way—especially my beloved Ximena, my greatest teacher. Her SOFT POWER living with presence, treating everyone and everything as sacred, and protecting Mother Earth—continues to guide and shape this mission and vision.
Time to build a world that heals, together.
— Tcho
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Congratulations Tony! This is fantastic.
Just pre-ordered the book and can’t wait for the reality of it to arrive and the de-paving and the rewilding of our urban centers.