With about 80% of Americans living in urban or suburban areas, the role of cities in spearheading the well-being of the U.S. is significant. City leadership -- be it government, business, faith-based, community-based, or education -- plays a critical role in the success or failure of a city to embrace and sustain a culture of well-being. There are tangible policies that communities can adopt to actively cultivate and improve residents well-being, said Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and founder of Blue Zones LLC. Policies that nudge people into healthy activities -- where it is easy to walk to the store, bike to a friends house, get access to fresh produce, and be surrounded by healthy-minded, supportive friends -- are ones that make the healthy choice, the easy choice. Sustained transformation depends on building an environment and establishing social policies that support and reinforce these programs. Communities such as Boulder (highest average rank across all reporting periods since 2008), Provo-Orem (most religious city, which helps its overall well-being), and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (the highest-ever rating for a large metro) can serve as best-practice examples for leaders of other cities. Key elements of community well-being, such as learning new and interesting things, providing safe places to exercise, routine trips to the dentist, and smoking cessation, are all key vanguards of high well-being locations. Leaders can leverage these learnings and advocate their execution in their own communities.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 22:14:32 +0000
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