Well Zones

How Do We Develop a Well Zone?

Our public spaces should be a place where community members can easily access a natural environment, health-promoting activities, and well-being information. They could be spaces where people make healthier decisions because they are designed to be the easier decisions. This is a Well Zone - a space where the healthy choice is the easy choice. Movement Rx helps develop Well Zones, places where physical and social environments actively support a thriving and well population. Leveraging the power of a well designed built and natural environment, we help work with project developers and designers to improve the longevity and physical, emotional and community health of a project’s end users.

Pillars of a Well Zone

#1: Greenspace

What is greenspace and why is it important?

Studies show access to nature or greenspaces plays a crucial role in well-being. A significant portion of people are limited in time spent in nature due to urban living and sedentary lifestyles, leading to increased stress and susceptibility to systemic disease. Access to greenspace and nature is a key aspect of our well-being for its ability to ground us in the present and connect us to the world around us.

In a community, greenspace provides opportunities for physical activity, relaxation, and social interaction through “community collisions,” where members “collide” with acquaintances from school, work, or other activities. Access to greenspaces have been linked to improved mental health, physical health, stress reduction, cognitive function, and social wellbeing.

The presence of greenspaces also helps improve the environment as they purify the air and water, reduce urban heat islands, and provide habitats for various species, supporting biodiversity. The social benefits are endless as these spaces provide a welcoming place for people to gather, fostering a sense of community and social cohesion to combat the epidemic of isolation and loneliness. Community greenspaces also provide aesthetic value by enhancing the visual appeal of urban and rural areas, contributing to a more pleasant and engaging environment.

How Movement Rx Can Help

Movement Rx provides evidence-based wellness insights to assist indesigning greenspace Well-Zone features that “make the healthy choice, the easy choice” e.g. greenways or linear parks to effectively connect different neighborhoods through walking, jogging, or cycling. Movement Rx also ensures there is equity and accessibility in the greenspaces for those with disabilities or adaptive needs. This will look like wheelchair access to the playgrounds and trails, activities for all abilities, and audio and visual cues for those with audio or visual disabilities for crosswalks to parks and around the parks.

#2: Healthy Food Choice

Why is healthy food choice so important?

Nutrition can be a controversial subject with fad diets and nutrition influencers ever present on social media. However the major issue in communities is poor access to healthy nutrition options. If fried foods, sodas, and highly processed foods are easy to access then that is what the majority of people will consume. Often, the easy choice is not the healthy choice.

Food also has cultural, social, and emotional significance. It's often tied to traditions, celebrations, psychological comfort, and even artistic expression. So, while its primary role is physical sustenance to nourish the body and mind, food plays a key role in our lives beyond this.

How Movement Rx Can Help

Movement Rx can help communities plan for healthier food availability and access to fresh produce in the form of farmers markets, community gardens, or mobile food markets. Movement Rx can evaluate the overall health of the community and help develop signage around the community spaces that guides folks to make easier healthier decisions around food (for example: inexpensive but healthy protein/carb/fat choices and graphics to represent proper ratios of protein/carb/fat portions to incorporate each day).

#3: Enable Physical Exercise

Why is enabling physical exercise so important?

Most people do not get enough physical exercise, which causes “lifestyle diseases” such as heart disease, diabetes, metabolic disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and even some cancers. Health guidelines generally recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week, combined with muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days per week. In the United States, it is estimated that about 80% of adults do not get the recommended amount of physical activity. Surroundings that enable physical exercise - not hinder it - are vital.

How Movement Rx Can Help

Movement Rx creates accessible and inclusive education, training centers, spaces, and fun activities to help people get the necessary physical exercise they need in a week. The education is inclusive to people of all abilities and instructs people on the basics of moving well, appropriate exercise dosage, and behavior change strategies to “fit in fitness”. It also includes helpful signage around the community that shares how often one needs to move with easy and fun examples. Movement Rx also designs outdoor and indoor fitness spaces along with educational signage around how to perform exercises correctly for maximal strength, endurance, and mobility to decrease pain, dysfunction, and disease. Movement Rx advises on what kinds of fun recreational activities for adults and kids can be implemented within the parks/greenspaces, including education on how to play and why they are so essential to one’s physical health.

#4: Support for Rest and Recovery

Why is support for rest and recovery so important?

On a macro level, rest and recovery refers to the processes that allow the body and mind to rejuvenate after physical, mental, or emotional exertion. This can include sleep, relaxation, nutrition, and taking time away from stressors or strenuous activities. When people do not get enough rest and recovery, a variety of physical, mental and emotional issues can arise, along with chronic diseases. For a community not prioritizing rest and recovery, there will be workforce challenges, community resource strain, higher healthcare costs, reduced overall well-being, decreased school and workplace performance, lower participation, and even increased crime rates.

How Movement Rx Can Help

Movement Rx develops inclusive solutions for a community to prioritize rest and recovery in its built environment. These solutions include education, design and programming for places where people can meditate and do yoga, quiet places for people to sit and be still, greenspace, places to walk, places to collide with others with healthy fuel available, saunas, cold plunges, floatation tanks, reflexology modalities, hot springs, mindfulness corners, and “no cell phone” zones.

#5: Supportive Local Policies

Why are local policies so important?

Local land use, zoning, programming and other policies specific to a location can inadvertently hinder community well-being. When developing a Well Zone, these policies must be examined to determine how to optimize infrastructure to support health and wellness.

How Movement Rx Can Help

Movement Rx reviews local policies, codes and informal procedures and scores how well these rules and efforts support or hinder well-being. Informal methods might include identifying support and integration with local preventative health care entities. Movement Rx also evaluates access to and quality of public transit, healthy food, biking/walking trails and how to improve a project's accessibility to these options.

#6: Social Circles and Community Identiy

Why are social circles and community identity so important?

Social Circles and Community Identity are concepts that are crucial to understanding social dynamics and community cohesion. They both play significant roles in shaping individuals' experiences and well-being within their communities.

Social Circles refer to the groups of people with whom an individual interacts regularly. These circles can include, family and close friends, work and professional networks, social/recreational groups and community or neighborhood groups. These groups offer emotional support, improved socialization and engagement, resource sharing and identity as well as self esteem.

Community Identity refers to the shared sense of belonging, values, and characteristics that define a particular group or community. This identity can be shaped by shared values and beliefs, cultural practices and traditions, local history/landmarks, and social or economical characteristics. Community identity gives a sense of belonging, civic engagement, cultural preservation, social support and resilience, as well as development and a sense of pride.

How Movement Rx Can Help

Movement Rx develops a branding and communications plan to support the community’s identification with well-being as a value and reinforce that identity through murals, signage, and a community event calendar. Tactics may include place-based media to communicate messages of social support, identity, and cohesion. Messaging often includes the sharing of well-being wins or positive experiences, and participation in community events.