Need to Know
13 : 01 : 23

Taiwan – Home to 70,000 inhabitants, the town of Huwei will have its waterway network entirely redesigned to promote deeper connections between citizens and nature.

The proposal, developed by MVRDV, has been selected by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs as the winning project for the large-scale redevelopment of Huwei’s water systems. Including both a strategic masterplan and landscape design, the Hoowave Water Factory project is set not only to uphold flood resilience, but also to improve the quantity and quality of the town’s water.

The new infrastructure will capture and store water in harmony with nature, urban life and the river’s flow. The proposal also introduces improved mobility networks and cultural amenities to boost economic and cultural attractivity. ‘Our design offers accessibility to riparian leisure spaces and cultural places, generating a more meaningful connection between people and nature... a wonderful resilience,’ adds MVRDV’s founding partner Winy Maas.

Explore infrastructure innovation and how design can bring people and nature closer in our Equilibrium Cities macrotrend.

US – Consumers are increasingly looking to food and drink ingredients to actively improve health, according to a new study from Tastewise – placing this above sustainability.

Insights for the study were taken from an AI algorithm applied to more than 22.5bn social media interactions, more than 5m online recipes and more than 4.5m restaurant and delivery menus. The results showed that nearly one in five Americans (18%) name specific health benefits they want in their products, with consumers talking about health 12 times more than sustainability when eating plant-based foods, and choosing plant-based options for health reasons 16 times more often than the environment.

The study also revealed that more consumers are specifically interested in food and drink to improve women’s health, with 37% more women looking to food and drink for health needs in 2022 than a year earlier. In this category, menopause support indexed high, boosting the popularity of ingredients like flaxseed.

At LS:N Global we have tracked the food-as-medicine movement in Total Tastes, as well as the health opportunities around Women Futures.

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