NPSG13-113

Living in a Sustainable Community Can Lengthen Your Life!

Speakers: Dan Burden, Executive Director, Walkable and Livable Communities Institute; Joel Spoonheim, President, Spoonheim Group; Laura Jackson, Executive Vice President, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield; Kent Sovern, Iowa State Director, AARP. Moderator: Amy Levner, Manager, Livable Communities, AARP

Can a community transform itself in two years to reverse negative health outcomes, by changing city policies and budgets, restaurant menus, worksite wellness practices, schools, and even individuals’ sense of purpose and social circles? Yes! Already seven communities across the United States are implementing the Blue Zones Project by Healthways. In a matter of months, not years, thousands of citizens and leaders across all sectors get involved making healthy choices easy choices. This approach is based on the lessons of the longest living communities in the world, called Blue Zones areas. Ten well-coordinated and research-backed strategies can lead to measurable improvements in wellbeing and longevity. The recommended practices include adopting Complete Streets policies and projects, creating safe routes to schools and walking schools buses, and other efforts to change the environment. The work started in 2009 with the AARP/Blue Zones Project and now is scaling to serve communities across the U.S.

MP3

$10.00

$10.00

NPSG13-109

Cities and Regions in Transition: Accentuating Assets, and Repositioning Economies for a More Prosperous Future

Speakers: Dane Walling, Mayor, City of Flint, MI; Benjamin Kennedy, Community Development Program Officer, Kresge Foundation; India Lee Pierce, Program Director for Neighborhoods, Cleveland Foundation; Tamar Shapiro, Director of Urban and Regional Policy, German Marshall Fund

Older industrial cities, both small and large, have been particular hard-hit by the recession. Building on regional assets, public-private partnerships and new funding opportunities, several such cities are transforming their economies for a stronger future. Philanthropic institutions have played a significant role in the transformation of these cities. Cleveland’s University Circle and Detroit’s Midtown are leading examples of new economic opportunities built around anchor institutions that are replacing older industrial and manufacturing centers. Flint, MI, with strong support from the local philanthropic community, is updating its master plan and zoning code to reflect current realities and reposition itself for a better and more sustainable future. The speakers address such topics as the role of anchor institutions in reviving local economies, worker-owned cooperatives, and neighborhood-based strategies that address widespread vacancy and abandonment.

MP3

$10.00

$10.00

Subtotal

$20.00