Success Stories

St. Petersburg has modeled its effort to improve public health after the World Health Organization’s Healthy Cities Initiative, creating Health 360. Using data from the Pinellas County Health Department Community Health Assessment and a ranking system from the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the City was able to confirm that chronic disease was the leading cause of death in the area, and that nutrition and physical activity were key factors contributing to these diseases. Health 360 is an initiative that seeks to address issues of health and the built environment by bringing together the Mayor’s Office, the Parks and Recreation Department, and other partners throughout the community.

Health 360 is founded on four strategic pillars: Live Healthy, Eat Healthy, Play Healthy, and Shop Healthy. Living healthy is accomplished through policy and education, according to St. Pete. This can include multimodal transportation and business education about how to support bicyclists as employees, consumers, and community members. On the Health 360 website, blog posts from doctors and other leading members of the community add to educational efforts by describing various aspects of healthy living, ranging from oral health to sleep to the benefits of friendship.

Eat Healthy promotes the City’s Food is Medicine Program, which covers nutrition, obesity prevention, family cooking, budgeting, and financial wellness all in 6-week long class sessions at no charge to St. Pete residents. Some classes offer weekly “Veggie Vouchers” for local vendor Gulfport produce to ensure these lessons are put into practice, demonstrating how the two pillars of Eat Healthy and Shop Healthy work together. The initiative also produces a video series called Health 360 Test Kitchen, featuring local personalities and health experts.

Play Healthy provides resources about fitness zones and recreation opportunities around the city. This pillar also includes the Parks & Rec Connect portal, allowing people to sign up for activities, view schedules, and register for teams online. Blog posts cover issues like reaching fitness goals and using St. Pete’s extensive trail system.

Shop Healthy covers the farmer’s markets and aims to develop partnerships with neighborhood stores and restaurants. In addition to blog posts, each of the four pillars has a dedicated ambassador to answer any questions and start community conversations about living, eating, playing, and shopping healthy in St. Pete. The resource page for this initiative covers institutions such as hospitals and behavioral health facilities, as well as a directory of community assets in the built and natural environments. Health 360 continues to grow and gain recognition nationally as a leader in community health, continually striving to build more resources and more opportunities for engagement.

The City of Sarasota has made health a priority throughout its planning activities. The current City of Sarasota Comprehensive Plan states that “all City road improvement projects shall work to create complete streets” that enable safe mobility and access for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and bus riders of all ages and abilities.  Development impact fees contribute toward widening sidewalks, maintenance, and repair of bicycle and pedestrian routes in accordance with the adopted multimodal plan.  An updated Plan includes a Health Element aimed at advancing access to nutritious food.

Another goal of the City is for every resident in the region to experience a park within a 10-minute walk. Toward that end, the City has been working in cooperation with Sarasota County to complete the Legacy Trail extension into downtown Sarasota. The extension will create a network of connected pedestrian and bicycle paths from Sarasota to North Port and benefit both residents and visitors.  Officials feel it will advance not only public health, but also economic development, cultural resources, and the environment.

Downtown Sarasota is advancing pedestrian and bicycle accessibility to markets such as Whole Foods, and weekly Farmers Market events.  Those in the Downtown experience a live, work and play environment; all conducive to a healthy lifestyle. The current Downtown Master Plan Study Area reinforces this with a transportation objective stating that, “The City will undertake transportation related activities as established in the adopted Downtown Master Plan 2020. The City will improve mobility and streetscapes to create a more walkable environment in the downtown core. Pedestrian corridors shall link the Downtown Proper with its surrounding “walk-to-town” neighborhoods so that a pleasant walking environment is achieved.”

The City’s Parks and Recreation Department maintains a system of 50 active and passive parks. The Landscape Maintenance Division has a staff of 32 to manage and maintain the parks.  Approximately 10% of the total park area is available for active recreation pursuits that include athletic fields, walking/jogging trails, outdoor exercise equipment, playgrounds and the like.  A Parks Master Plan is currently in development.  Employed within the Parks Department is a Certified Playground Safety Inspector, who monitors and performs preventative maintenance on playground equipment.

Sarasota is also implementing a form-based code system, replacing conventional separated-use zoning that encourages a car-dependent culture and land-consuming sprawl. It is guided by Transect (T) Zones instead that provide the basis for real neighborhood structure, which requires walkable streets, mixed use, transportation options, and housing diversity. The T-zones vary by the ratio and level of intensity of their natural, built, and social components. The transect allows each zone to be coordinated with the appropriate planning context, from the region through the community scale down to the individual lot and building. The new zoning is currently applied at the community (municipal) scale.

Including the vast assortment of healthy food options such as Whole Foods located on public transportation and pedestrian access, the City supports upwards of 10 organic gardens in the Sarasota area. Held weekly, the Sarasota Farmers Market, located in central Downtown Sarasota, provides community outreach, workshops, health and sustainability, a positive impact and a place for the average 10,000 weekly visitors gather.  The Market’s local crop production equates to 727 acres of fresh offerings.

The Newton Farmers Market is open every first and third Friday of every month.  This area is considered an underserved area, and this is a way to bring healthy choices to the community in lieu of traveling out of the community for healthy options.  The Sarasota Farmers Market is in the process of accepting electronic benefits transfer (EBT) and supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) payments from its patrons.  The Newtown Farmers Market accepts both EBT and SNAP.  In addition to the Sarasota Farmers Market and the Newtown Farmers Market, Sarasota supports four Community Gardens located in the city limits.  The farmers of these Community Gardens sell their organic fruits and vegetables at both markets.

Finally, the City has implemented a Climate Adaptation Plan, which incorporates health-related policies related to smart solutions that harness energy and human capital.  The application of climate change science informs administrative decisions, public policy, and infrastructure investments, which the City staff and officials feel are critical to the health and welfare of the citizenry and the environment.

The City of Miramar has taken guidance from the Urban Land Institute, ChangeLab Solutions, and Complete Streets policies to create a Health in All Policies approach to land use and economic development. Miramar uses LEED professionals and incentives for healthy building practices, including pedestrian-oriented streetscapes, bicycling infrastructure, healthy food retail and on-site gardening, and policies that facilitate social engagement.

Miramar operates two state-of-the-art aquatic complexes and over forty active and passive parks. The City of Miramar is home to the Southcentral/Southeast Focal Point Senior Center (SC/SEFP) which operates 2 senior centers with services and activities designed specifically for persons 60 years old or older. Complete Streets projects have been completed in the historic district, and more are in progress throughout Miramar as the City works on its new multimodal transportation plan with the help of grant funding and County guidance. At the Town Center Transit Hub, bicyclists who commute already have the opportunity to park their bikes and shower at the station, a step towards accommodating multimodal travel downtown. Bicycle storage also factors into development decisions for both public and private facilities.

The City’s updated Land Development Code and Economic Development Strategic Plan includes healthy living best practices as a result of a project known as the Intergenerational Garden. This award-wining project inspired language in the Economic Development which recommend engagement as a way to create a livable city that balances the physical, social, and economic environments of its neighborhoods. The plan also addresses programs to combat higher-than-average levels of preventable chronic diseases, by catalyzing collective action and by fostering production of low-cost and nutritious food alternatives. The City of Miramar’s Land Development Code includes regulations to counteract the growing presence of fast food restaurants and strengthen civic involvement among its residents.

The Intergenerational Garden is a hub of activity for Miramar, covering 7,400 square feet and tended by 24 member volunteers, 6 Master Gardeners, a Master Canner, a chef, and 80 “friends of the garden.” This project has won awards from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the American Planning Association, and the Florida League of Cities. One of their flagship events is called the Miramar Disco Soup, where participants “chop to the beat” and use blemished or “ugly” produce to create a delicious and healthy meal together as families and neighbors. This event addresses topics of food waste, nutritious meals, sensory education for children, seasonal food choices, and community building. Miramar offers other events for adults and children at the garden, using it as a focal point for reducing chronic disease and building healthy practices into daily life.