Can Urban Planning Replicate the Longevity of the World's Blue Zones?

The notion of “blue zones” began with studies of five global locales—Ikaria in Greece, Loma Linda in California, Nicoya in Costa Rica, Okinawa in Japan, and Sardinia in Italy—where people tend to live longer and healthier lives. These findings have since been turned into a certification program that towns can adopt to claim similar benefits. In a recent video, the Beach Cities of California are examined as a case study of this trend, highlighting attempts to embed movement, social connection, purpose and diet into everyday community design.

The report weighs whether such initiatives truly translate scientific insights into public-health gains or merely rebrand basic health advice. It also references skeptical commentary from scientific outlets about the robustness of blue-zone research. The production is funded by Colgate, which maintains editorial independence.