Residents in the unincorporated townships of Parkland and Spanaway live an estimated 10–15 years less than those in Tacoma.
This information comes from Joseph Gomez, Marketing and Engagement Lead for the Blue Zones Project (BZP).Â
To put these numbers in perspective, Washington has the highest life expectancy in the continental U.S. with an average lifespan being 79.2 years, according to a 2022 report by the Center for Disease Control.
In the Parkland and Spanaway communities, there is increased difficulty being active, eating healthier, and being exposed to more pollutants and stressors.Â
These are realities all too familiar to Executive Director and PLU graduate Tono Sablan and Gomez, who are both from the Parkland-Tacoma area. “It was a hard day hearing the statistics,” Gomez said.
 “The reason why folks are so unhealthy, more often than not, is because they’re living in an environment that doesn’t support health. If you’re unhealthy in the United States, that’s likely not 100% because you’ve made bad choices. It’s because you’re in a community that doesn’t support living a healthy lifestyle,” Sablan told the Tacoma News Tribune.Â
For this reason, the BZP aims to foster positive change in the Parkland-Spanaway communities. That means creating infrastructure that supports activity, such as more sidewalks, healthier and more affordable food choices, and passing policies that improve “the built environment so people can naturally lead healthier lives while also working to reduce the use of tobacco products and alcohol,” according to BZP.
The BZP is a self-described “community well-being initiative that makes healthy choices easier in all the places we live, work, learn, and play.” The mission of the BZP is to, within a four-year span, instill systemic and structural changes in their communities with a focus on raising the quality of life and life expectancy of the people who live there.Â
Gomez stressed that a strong sense of community is key to health and well-being. One of the biggest methods of engagement that the BZP has put into practice is “walking Moai.” Moai is a Japanese word meaning “gathering for a common purpose,” resulting in a “community that lasts a lifetime,” Gomez explained.Â
A comprehensive action plan has been published on the BZP Parkland-Spanaway website that has a multitude of criteria that must be met in order for the Parkland-Spanaway communities to become Blue Zone Certified.Â
“We hope the outcome is that folks in our community live longer, healthier lives and have more time to spend with their families and to be in community and truly enjoy themselves and to age in a place that’s safe,” Sablan said to the Tacoma News Tribune.
At the end of the four years of work, Gomez hopes to “make health and wellness a part of the DNA of Parkland and Spanaway long after they’re gone.”
