We Partner with You to
Take on Your Community’s Challenges

Transforming Well-Being at the Neighborhood, City,
and County Levels

America’s Calling
for Community
Well-Being

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As America comes out of COVID-19, now is the time to take a close and deliberate look at our community resilience that is jeopardized by acute and long-term population health challenges, health inequities and local and national economic volatility.

This is where BLUE ZONES comes in. For over 20 years, we have been on the ground in hundreds of American Cities co-creating and implementing evidence-informed Community Well-Being programs to create sustainable, system-level solutions that improve population health and economic vitality. We partner with public and private sector leaders to increase the well-being of cities leading to greater stability, improved health equity and increased resilience.

As we create a new pathway to a new future, we see a time where we can empower everyone, everywhere live longer, better through Community Well-Being. Together, we will shine a bright and positive national light on the cities and leaders we partner with as great places to live, work and play.

Looking at the Bigger Picture to Get Bigger Results

Blue Zones Community Well-Being uplevels the approach to taking on the downstream issues cities face such as homelessness, obesity, diabetes and healthcare costs by delivering sustainable and holistic solutions that increase health and economic vibrancy.

Albert Lea, MN Beach Cities, CA Fort Worth, TX Principles
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Blue Zones Project: ALBERT LEA, MN

This Midwestern city had high smoking rates and low activity levels, and they climbed out of a health and economic crisis with projected lifespans increased by nearly 3 years.

  • $7.5 million in savings in annual health care costs for employers.
  • 2.9 years added to lifespans within one year of participating in the Blue Zones Project.
  • The Downtown Streetscape revitalization has increased private investment, tourism, and the tax base.

Learn more about Blue Zones Project in Albert Lea, MN.

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Blue Zones Project: BEACH CITIES, CA

These three beach cities in Southern California continue to show dramatic improvements since launching with Blue Zones Project in 2010.

  • 68% drop in childhood obesity rates at Redondo Beach K-5 schools.
  • 15% drop in adult obesity and overweight rates. 
  • 36% drop in smoking

Significant daily stress has dropped 10 percent since 2010. 

A significant unhealthy indicator in the Beach Cities was significant daily stress, higher than the national average.

Learn more about Blue Zones Project in the Beach Cities.

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Blue Zones Project: FORT WORTH, TX

Since the launch of the Blue Zones Project, Fort Worth’s health has risen dramatically.

  • 31 percent decrease in smoking, Fort Worth’s smoking rate now stands at 13.5 percent.
  • 9-point increase in residents who exercise at least 30 minutes three or more days of the week, now at 62 percent.
  • More than 58 percent of Fort Worth respondents are now categorized as “thriving” in their general evaluations of their lives, an increase of 7.3 points. Fort Worth’s overall 2018 Well-Being Index score rose to 62.5, a gain of nearly four points since 2014, when the city began working with Blue Zones Project®. Meanwhile the U.S. Well-Being Index score—which outpaced the Fort Worth score by 3 points in 2014—is 61.3, a decline of 0.5 over the same period.

Learn more about Blue Zones Project in Fort Worth, TX.

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Blue Zones Principles

Backed by science, proven over time, the Blue Zones approach works.  Rooted in years of international anthropological research and data-driven results, the experts at Blue Zones and Blue Zones Project use longevity and happiness secrets gleaned from real places and real people to inspire lifestyle changes with lasting effects.

Environment-First: Context matters. Blue Zones is committed to building a nation of happy and healthy communities. Starting with the immediate environment, we work with businesses, schools, environmentalists, city planners, and residents to engineer safer, healthier environments. We know the power of what can happen when the healthy option becomes the accessible, easy option. Optimizing our surroundings allows individual behavior shifts to happen more naturally, lifting everyone up to be their best.

Reduce Healthcare Costs: Blue Zones doesn’t just provide the tools to transform environments, it’s a game changer that drives real business results. Fostering mental, physical, social and professional well-being, the Blue Zones method results in a reduction in healthcare costs and improved workforce productivity.

Impact the Community: Of course we all want our communities to be happy and healthy. Blue Zones knows how to actually pull it off. We have the tools to better engage citizens, businesses, schools and other community organizations to incite real change, transform the environment and enable sustainable, meaningful growth.

Transforming the System: We’re all about creating a nation of healthy and happy people starting with the health systems, structures, and cultures that they interact with most. We help provide the right resources and pathways for individual and systemic success, improving efficacy and elevating collective potential.

Be a Part of Real Change: Join forces with other businesses, citizens, schools, employers, restaurants and community leaders to reach beyond the walls of your office and be a part of sustainable change. Deepen your connection with the community to foster transformation, inspire purpose, and see measurable results.

Life Radius®: Making the Health Choice the Easy Choice

In our work building healthier, stronger communities, we focus on a “life radius,” or the area close to home where we spend 90 percent of our lives. In a full Blue Zones community transformation, we optimize:

The built environment: Improving roads and transportation options, parks, and public spaces

Municipal policies and ordinances: Promoting activity and discouraging junk food marketing and smoking

Restaurants, schools, grocery stores, faith-based organizations, and workplaces: Building healthier options into the places people spend most of their time

Social networks: Forming and nurturing social groups that support healthy habits

Habitat: Helping people design homes that nudge them into eating less and moving more

Inner selves: Encouraging people to reduce stress, find their purpose, and give back to the community

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The Blue Zones Project helped our community set amazing, aggressive, and achievable strategies that moved the Public Health agenda further in 10 months than what I could have expected in 10 years.
- Lois Ahern, Director of Freeborn County Health (retired), Albert Lea, MN

Let’s Transform Well-Being Together

Schedule an initial consultation with BLUE ZONES to learn more about how we can partner to take on the health, wellness and equity challenges of your city by improving Community Well-Being.

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