While environmentalists concern themselves with making the world Green, Dan Buettner focuses on Blue. His Blue Zones series of books take a scientific approach to measuring and optimizing human health and happiness.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that these blue zones are also central to the Eco-City framework.
At the intersection of the park, main street, and transportation grids, the Blue Zone is dedicated to health, education, and community welfare. Easily accessed by short walks, bike, transit, and auto, the Blue Zone bridges the Green Zone of parks, urban agriculture, and water, as well as the Pink Zone of work, shopping, and hospitality.
Together these uses create a cellular form, blue at the nucleus, with green surrounding, which draws people toward a balance of family, education, recreation, food, play, socializing, choice, wealth, activity, health, meditation, volunteering, outdoors, co-ops, performances, arts, positivity, purpose, engagement, serendipity, choice, and care.
In the following series, we will be focusing on these Blue metrics with an eye toward measuring how our built environment can help create and foster the “happy” society in tandem with Economic and Ecological Prosperity. Can Green at No Cost also be Blue at No Cost? Let’s measure it and find out!
