October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 48

DAN BUETTNER
bike lanes and trees. You can raise
the physical activity level of a whole
city by 20 percent with these things.
So, for physical activities, it's our
best investment. I don't really understand
[what food security is], because
there isn't an American [who]
can't afford a bag of beans and a
bag of rice. And when you combine
beans and rice and put some
inexpensive spices, you have all the
protein and complex carbohydrates
" Parks and recreation centers
are natural places for people to
gather, and I think programming
aimed at getting people out of
their house and connecting in a
way that transcends just small
talk [is important]. "
and...a ton of minerals. [With] the
millions of dollars we're spending
on food security, why not just set up
programs where they have easy access
to learn how to cook with these
foods and you can give it away for
free? So, I know this is disruptive,
but it's largely because I'm focused
mostly on what I've seen work
around the world. People in blue
zones are poor. How about in parks
and rec centers, there [are] cooking
demonstration classes where everybody
gets an Instant Pot and they're
shown how to make these simple
blue zones-type foods that are delicious,
cheap, easy to make and accessible
to [everybody]. I'd like to
reorient our thinking.
P&R: What's your vision for
Blue Zones 2.0 and what cities
have the highest potential to be
designated blue zones?
Buettner: I'm working on...2.0
right now, but these are places
that have manufactured healthier
populations through a smart policy
environment. And I've already
highlighted Singapore in the Netflix
series. But for America, the
ones that are most likely to succeed
are the cities where the leadership,
the mayor [and] city council
are willing to put their political
equity on the line. In other words,
commit to health as opposed to
the other competing agenda items.
And [I look at] cities where the
public sector and the private sector
work well together, because
it's never a government mandate.
It's always a handshake between
private and public with participation
from the community. That's
what works, and they're interested
in evidence-based ways to change
their ecosystem in [the] long
term...or change their environments
[whereby] people in those
cities are set up for success. Right
now, we're set up for failure....
We're set up for physical inactivity,
and we're set up for eating [unhealthy].
So, it's not until the private
and public sector say, " All right,
we're going to lock arms and create
an environment where people
are set up for success, " where the
cheapest, most accessible foods are
healthy and where it's way easier
to walk to places than it is to drive.
Nobody wants to acknowledge the
elephant in the room because the
solutions are difficult, and you also
have a legislative environment that
[believes] it's not good for business
[even though] it's good for us.
P&R: What role can park and
recreation professionals play
in helping turn communities
into future blue zones? (e.g.,
advocacy, programming,
community outreach)
Buettner: First of all, I think it's
48 Parks & Recreation | O CTOBER 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
huge. I mean to the extent that
you can advocate for a Blue Zone
Project, it's great. Parks and recreation
centers are natural places for
people to gather, and I think programming
aimed at getting people
out of their house and connecting
in a way that transcends just small
talk [is important]. We have a loneliness
epidemic here. So, programming
that gets like-minded people
together in a way that they're likely
to be friends after the interaction
would be huge. Number two [is]
cooking demonstrations, showing
people how to cook cheap, healthy
food at home. Right there, that
would probably solve 50 percent of
the problem. [Also,] pay attention
to what people like to do nowadays
- not just children but older people.
I think pickleball has been the
most important social innovation
our country has seen in 50 years.
I think every park should have a
pickleball court. Why? Because it
draws older people, and they tend
to become friends over time. It's so
obvious [because] you have these
tennis courts sitting empty and a
ready market of people want to
play pickleball.
P&R: How would you finish this
sentence, " The secret to living a
full life is _____________ " ?
Buettner: Shaping your environment
so the healthy choice is unconscious.
And I'd end it with an
exclamation mark.
SEE ALSO: " Getting Into the Blue
Zone, " Lindsay Collins, Parks & Recreation,
June 2022, Vol. 57, Iss. 6,
tinyurl.com/3tk74hrp.
Vitisia Paynich is Executive Editor and
Director of Print and Online Content at
NRPA (vpaynich@nrpa.org).
http://tinyurl.com/3tk74hrp
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation

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