Texas Border Business
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The City of Brownsville is proud to announce that the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation and Blue Zones, the global leader in longevity research and community well-being transformation, have launched a partnership through Blue Zones Ignite™ in Brownsville, the largest City in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Blue Zones Ignite initiative is expected to help Brownsville assess opportunities to improve community well-being and develop a long-term transformation plan that supports healthier lifestyles, stronger social connections, and a more vibrant quality of life for residents. As part of this effort, Blue Zones Ignite is currently conducting a Gallup poll assessment with Brownsville residents to gather community input and better understand local needs, priorities, and opportunities. Information collected through the assessment will help shape a long-term plan designed to elevate wellness throughout the community.
“This partnership represents an important step forward in our commitment to building a healthier, stronger Brownsville,” said Brownsville Mayor John Cowen, Jr. “By working with the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation and Blue Zones, we have the opportunity to listen directly to our residents, understand what matters most to their well being, and create a plan that supports lasting, positive change for families across our City.”
Blue Zones uses an evidence-based, environmental approach to making healthy choices easier in the places where people spend the most time. Through Blue Zones Ignite, Blue Zones will work with the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation, the City of Brownsville, and other community leaders to conduct an in-depth readiness and feasibility assessment to determine how to make Brownsville a healthier place to live, work, and thrive. Together with the community, the Blue Zones team will assess readiness and build a plan for change.
The Blue Zones approach focuses on one of the largest determinants of health: the environment in which people live. Rather than focusing solely on individual behavior change, Blue Zones helps communities make permanent and semi-permanent changes to policies, systems, streets, surroundings, and social networks so it becomes easier for residents to eat wisely, move naturally, and connect more with others throughout their day.
By improving the Life Radius® — the area close to home where most Americans spend 90 percent of their lives — Blue Zones transformations have helped communities make measurable progress in overall population health and well-being. Participating communities have seen double-digit drops in obesity and smoking rates, economic investment in downtown corridors, grant funding awards to support policies and programs that improve health equity, and measurable savings in healthcare costs.
“What excites us most about this work in Brownsville is the community’s commitment to shaping its own future,” said Shelly Trumbo, Blue Zones Chief Operating Officer. “We’re honored to walk alongside the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation and the City as we build a long‑term plan that supports well‑being for generations to come.”
Blue Zones employs a proven solution in collaboration with communities to help people live better and longer lives. The company’s work is based on research and principles developed by National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author Dan Buettner, who identified the cultures of the world — or blue zones — with the healthiest, longest-living populations.
The public is invited to attend a Blue Zones Ignite Brownsville Community Keynote Event to learn more about the initiative.
When: Wednesday, September 2, 2026, 5:30 PM to 7:45 PM
Where: Brownsville Events Center
(1 Event Center, Brownsville, TX 78520)
Admission: Free and open to the public
About Blue Zones
Blue Zones employs evidence-based ways to help people live better, longer. The company’s work is rooted in explorations and research done by founder and National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner in blue zones regions around the world, where people live extraordinarily long and/or happy lives. The original research and findings were released in Buettner’s bestselling books The Blue Zones, The Blue Zones Solution, The Blue Zones of Happiness, Thrive, Blue Zones Kitchen, Blue Zones Challenge, Blue Zones American Kitchen, and Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer—all published by National Geographic books. A hit docuseries, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, was released on Netflix in 2023. Using original Blue Zones research, Blue Zones works with cities and counties to make healthy choices easier through permanent and semi-permanent changes to our human-made surroundings. Participating communities have experienced double-digit drops in obesity and tobacco use and have saved millions of dollars in healthcare costs. For more information, visit www.bluezones.com.
