The Walkable, Healthy Rural Community: A Case Study

Jay Walljasper profiles Albert Lea, Minnesota, "a town of 18,000 where people are working to prove that healthy lifestyles like walking and good nutrition are not just big-city things."

Albert Lea is not a college town or a resort town. According to Ellen Keher, a local resident and former city councilmember quoted in the article, "we’re an ag-based rural city promoting healthy living because it’s the right thing to do and it’s how we want to live and want our children to live…"

The article details the town's efforts, which date back to 2009 when it "adopted a community-wide approach to wellness laid out in 'Blues Zones,' a best-selling book by National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner that examines places around the world where people live longest and healthiest."

The results of the efforts speak for themselves: walking has increased 70 percent in the last five years, smoking has dropped by 4 percent, and the community has lost a collective four tons of weight.

The article also details how the community achieved the outcomes, including organized walking groups, walkability improvements to downtown infrastructure, safe routes improvements near schools and senior centers, and a bikeway connecting a state park and the community's downtown.