Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 917

Over the weekend I learned about Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones . These are cities and parts of the world where, according to Dan, people have a much longer life expectancy. The five regions he identifies as Blue Zones are: Okinawa (Japan); Sardinia (Italy); Nicoya (Costa Rica); Icaria (Greece); and Loma Linda (California).

Many of you have probably heard of this finding from Malcolm Gladwell. I think he writes about it in Outliers . I had. But I didn’t know about Dan Buettner and his efforts to teach these “secrets” to other regions around the world. 

I can’t speak for the efficacy of his consulting practice, but I think it’s interesting that some of the characteristics of these Blue Zones include a strong sense of family and community, as well as constant moderate physical activity . In other words, activity that is integral to normal life, such as lots of hills in a mountain town.

The links between urban form, walking and biking (instead of driving), and health outcomes are something that get a lot of air time. It is, of course, one of the reasons why denser cities are thought to be healthier cities. They encourage more active forms of mobility.

But what else could we be doing to make physical activity an inseparable part of urban life? In Rio de Janeiro, they often incorporate fitness facilities into their public spaces, whether it’s a parklet or the beach. That probably doesn’t qualify as inseparable, but it’s certainly a start.

“Francis is one of the most decisive people I know. He made a commitment to invest in our first venture capital fund in a five-minute cab we shared to work one morning.”

—Fred Wilson, Co-Founder, Venture Capitalist, and Blogger, Union Square Ventures

Francis Greenburger, who is founder and CEO of the real estate investment and development firm Time Equities , recently appeared on Barry Ritholtz’s Masters in Business Podcast .

They touch on a number of topics, including why development sometimes produces more bankruptcies than billionaires; why development margins are compressed in Toronto; and how Francis popularized the co-op in New York. 

Francis is also the author of Risk Game: Self Portrait of an Entrepreneur . So if you like the podcast – which is a great listen – there’s also a book for you. Click here for the podcast.

The University of Toronto is looking for a Director, Real Estate to manage their tri-campus portfolio of income producing real estate, as well as the development opportunities that they have on and adjacent to their three campuses. The downtown campus alone is over 120 buildings across 130 acres.

A good friend of mine is helping with this search; I went to the University of Toronto (twice); and I believe that institutions, such as U of T, play an important city building function. So I’m sharing this opportunity with all of you today. For more on the University’s development strategy, click here .

They are looking for someone with 10+ years of experience. The salary will be competitive and commensurate with this level of experience. And you would be reporting directly to the Chief of University Planning, Design & Construction. 

If you’re interested, you can apply here . You have until January 25, 2019 to do that. I hope the position gets filled with a star. Also, sorry if this post isn’t relevant to you. Regularly scheduled programming will resume tomorrow.