Beach Cities Changing Tide Toward a Healthy Future

Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach are trying to transform homes, workplaces, and schools to improve public health, writes Anna Gorman for the Los Angeles Times.

1 minute read

October 5, 2011, 1:00 PM PDT

By Kristopher Fortin


Community leaders say the "Vitality City" project will reduce obesity and hypertension rates, which is among the highest in Los Angeles County. The project is urging restaurants, workplaces, and schools to offer more healthful options on their menus, with one restaurant replacing bread with steamed vegetables. School efforts include "walking school buses", morning aerobics classes and nutrition lessons.

"Vitality City Director Joel Spoonheim said he expects some opposition over the next few years. But he urges naysayers to look at the success the project had in Alberta Lea, Minn., where he said healthcare claims dropped and participants lost an average of 2.6 pounds and boosted their life expectancy by three years."

The beach cities received a $3.5-million grant from a company called Healthways, "...a company that works to improve wellbeing, and the services of health and city planning experts from throughout the U.S."

Sunday, October 2, 2011 in Los Angeles Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight