Our Policy Work
Policy change is a driving force behind Blue Zones Project transformation. Optimizing food, tobacco, and built-environment policy is a high-impact, cost-effective strategy to reduce chronic disease and improve well-being. While much of a healthy lifestyle is a result of personal choice, healthy changes on a policy level have a broad impact across the community.
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Through built environment change, individuals can see tangible transformation taking place in their lives: from the downtown and parks they gather to the streets and paths they navigate to get to work, school, and shopping.
The built environment of a community influences a person’s level of physical activity. By making the active option the easy and safe option, Blue Zones Project can have a positive impact on a community’s overall well-being.
Communities designated as Age Friendly believe the places where we live are more livable, and better able to support people of all ages, when local leaders commit to improving the quality of life for the very young, the very old, and everyone in between.
TOBACCO POLICY
City policies have a lasting, community-wide impact on shaping our environments to support well-being. Tobacco policies that support individual and community health include increasing the number of smoke-free environments throughout a community and making tobacco and other smoking devices less accessible.
We’re making great strides to address tobacco policy, working with community partners to define community priorities and champion changes to support clean air for everyone, from retail policy to smoke-free public spaces.
