Miami Beach wants to be the next Blue Zonehow will it get there?

Miami Beach, FL, might be known for its spring break scene and the celebrities who are snatching up multimillion-dollar mansions, but it hopes to soon join the ranks of the world’s “blue zones”: communities where people live much longer and healthier than the average.“This is about changing the perception and the reality of what we are,” Miami Beach Vice Mayor Tanya Bhatt, who is spearheading the effort to turn around the party spot, exclusively tells Realtor.com.“We’re never not going to have a robust nightlife.

And that is a great thing to have.But we’re also about so much more than party ’til you drop.”Journalist Dan Buettner coined the term “blue zones” in 2004 for certain communities around the globe that he claims have unusually high life expectancies and a high number of centenarians.While he admits genetics plays a key role in a person’s lifespan, Buettner also believes longevity is baked into certain communities because of their lifestyles.The five blue zones are: Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, CA; and Okinawa, Japan.In his bestselling book, “The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer,” Buettner identified nine traits these five communities have in common: natural movement, living with a purpose, downshifting from stress, eating mindfully, a plant-based diet, moderate alcohol consumption, a faith-based community, putting family first, and having a healthy social circle (“tribe”).While it should be noted that the concept of blue zones has been challenged as being myth and not based on science, the idea remains wildly popular.Buettner savvily created a business empire around the concept, with several books, speaking engagements, meal plans and branded foods, retreats, and merchandise.

He’s even gone so far as to try to debunk the debunkers.In 2020, Minneapolis-based Blue Zones LLC was acquired by Adventist Health, a private, non-profit Seventh-day Adventist-based healthcare...