Blue Zones Project®
Health and well-being on the First Coast can be difficult to achieve for some Jacksonville communities but, thanks to an innovative partnership of influential public and private organizations, the needle may soon move forward to improve community well-being, resilience, and economic vitality in Duval County, beginning with Westside, Northside, and East Jacksonville neighborhoods.
A coalition of community leaders, including Baptist Health, Brooks Rehabilitation, the City of Jacksonville, Community First Credit Union, Florida Blue, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jacksonville University, Jessie Ball duPont Fund, Mayo Clinic, UF Health, and United Way of Northeast Florida, spent the past year working with the Blue Zones Project® (bluezonesprojectjacksonville.com) to learn what it would take to make our environment healthier and to nudge people to make healthier lifestyle choices.
“I’m excited to be doing this inspired, important work, and to be collaborating alongside many community leaders already working on initiatives to bring positive change and improved well-being to Jacksonville,” says Nicole Hamm, executive director for Blue Zones Project Jacksonville. “Our community is such an integral part of this work, and we are enthusiastic about working with them for this project.”
The national Blue Zones Project began in 2004 with a quest to identify places in the world where people lived better and longer. The results of that research will help give Jacksonville the tools to improve well-being for its citizens.
Over six years, local leadership and the local Blue Zones Project team will launch and implement policy work and school initiatives across all of Duval County. The Westside, Northside, and East Jacksonville neighborhoods will undergo focused Blue Zones Life Radius® transformation. Visit bluezonesprojectjacksonville.com for more information.
