Since the Blue Zones site visit to Airdrie back in May we haven't heard much about the project, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been a lot of activity going on behind the scenes. 

Mayor Peter Brown says there's been much happening as the city attempts to become the first Blue Zones Project in Canada and gets well on their way to becoming the healthiest city in the country.

"They've done an Airdrie and area site visit report, detailing where they're at.  They identify who they were speaking to, sort of the extent of their outreach.  They go on to talk about the different organizations that need to be part of this that they haven't connected with.  They met with a lot of people while they were here but they've listed a lot of other organizations and individuals that they'd like to meet with.  Then they go on to a lot of details in the site visit."

Brown says the group has also prepared a report on the Built Environment of Airdrie which focuses on improving road and transportation options and parks and public spaces in the city which he has yet to see.

"The Blue Zones executives will be here within the month of August and they'll be doing a sit down with the Airdrie and Area Health Benefits Cooperative and bringing everybody up to speed.  Number one, we have to decide if our community's a fit, that's number one being the first community in Canada to push toward receiving a Blue Zone status, which is pretty incredible.  The second piece is there is obviously a financial ramification across the board.  They haven't been detailed yet so we're not sure to what extent the costs are that are associated with that certification but all of that stuff will be coming forward in the next two to three weeks."

Brown says initially the Blue Zone executives were going to be in Airdrie in July but their visit was postponed by the shortened council season. 

Mayor Brown says he has always been very excited about Airdrie becoming a Blue Zone city but realizes that, unfortunately, everything comes down to dollars and cents.   

"I hate to say that, but it does.  I think that there's going to be a huge financial commitment.  We hope to get a lot of support from the federal and provincial government" 

Brown insists that whatever the costs are, they will be well worth it to the City of Airdrie. 

"Because being proactive about your health as a community in Airdrie if you look at the long-term costs, the savings are in the millions.  They've done some financial modelling on the initial investment to show what it would be like in ten years here in Airdrie and it's significantly less.   The cost to the healthcare system, long-term care and those sorts of things, because Blue Zones is there."

Brown is very excited about the possibility of becoming Canada's first Blue Zone city. 

"I feel really good about it, I just want to make certain that we've crossed our T's and dotted our I's and understand the ramifications of what we're trying to do.  If we're going to do this, we want to be successful.  The community, everyone, needs to be on board.  Honestly, I don't think that's a difficult sell when you tell people you're going to live longer, you're going to live healthier, you're going to live more productive lives, less stress, more sleep, more time for your families.  There's a lot of positives that come from this.  I'm really optimistic.  I think we've got a great shot at it."

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