Sometimes you just need a crash course in racism and poverty, and how these subjects relate to pollution and climate change.

The following video from Grist explains how certain people in cities and nations are more impacted by pollution. Because, after all, social justice is an environmental issue. Now, on to the short and sweet environmental justice video.

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Munich designates six areas for nude sunbathing. What does that say about the rest of us?

When statewide laws in Bavaria regulating public nudity expired last fall, the city of Munich decided to take the issue of nude sunbathing into its own hands, by officially declaring six urban naked zones, where people can partake in as much nude sunbathing  as they like.

While public nudity is a rarity in the United States, and many other Western countries, German culture is much more well accustomed to going sans clothing in public saunas and thermal springs. In fact, in most of those places, it’s odder to wear a bathing suit than not.

Munich’s large park Englischer Garten has long been home to people basking in the sun in the nude. But the urban naked zones make six designated areas specifically for nudists who don’t want to be bothered by their clothing (or lack thereof) choices. (Atlantic Cities has a map of all of them in case you are interested.)

This may seem as extremely progressive to some, but this is a culture that has much less prudish attachment to nudity. When you grow up in a culture that often has same-sex, public saunas you get used to it. Nudity isn’t sexualized. It’s just natural. As Andrew Welch wrote in an editorial in The Independent in regards to the British views towards nudity, “Our society is still obsessed with Victorian attitudes towards the body, and the idea that skin equals sex.”

You can sort of envision prospective tourists to Munich snorting about how funny it will be to see naked people sunbathing in a park. But if there’s one thing about German culture to know, it’s that being nude is normal. Certainly, not everyone chooses to go nude sunbathing, but German, and other Northern European cultures, have a much more normalized relationship to nudity that makes these types of citywide decision not as shocking as they seem to us in more reserved cultures. “[S]tripping off in public is the voluntary removal of a heavy mask, a return to unvarnished honesty rather than some titter-worthy peek-a-boo,” wrote Feargus O’Sullivan in Atlantic Cities.

Spread out across the city, the six areas are all in parkland, meaning that you’re not going to come across a nude sunbather just anywhere, and it certainly isn’t acceptable to go and hop on a Munich bus without your clothes on. Instead, areas in natural spaces are open for enjoyment, and if you want to do that without your clothes on, then you are more than welcome to. In a culture that has a lot of respect for the outdoors and nature, when you think about it, it’s not that odd or radical of a decision.

Maybe it’s time to rethink our own Victorian ideal-induced relationship to nudity. Look at things like the World Naked Bike Ride. Nudity doesn’t always have to mean sex, and while there are few that advocate for going naked 100 percent of the time, we’re certainly at a point in our culture where most of us have become entirely removed from our natural state of being. Because even if we don’t want to go nude in public, we could all spend a little more time being okay with our naked bodies.

Related on EcoSalon

Is Baring our Breasts the Best Way to Celebrate Women’s Equality Day?

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Image: leo gonzales

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IBM predicts how future technology will affect our lives over the next five years.

Have you ever seen one of those movies in which modern characters somehow travel back in time? Knowing the future gives them a huge advantage over still living in the past, although it often causes more trouble than it’s worth. Well every year for the past eight years, IBM has given the world the next best thing: a list of educated predictions about future technology. No, these aren’t half-cocked dreams about flying cars or colonies on Mars. These are systems and gadgets that are very likely to change the way we do things in the next five years.

Surprisingly (or maybe not) many of IBM’s “5 in 5” predictions about future technology have come to fruition, or something close to it. As 2013 draws to a close, let’s take a look at the future technology that will likely become commonplace by the end of the decade.

IBM’s Future Technology Predictions For Education, Retail, Healthcare, Security and Cities

Education

According to IBM, the digitization of classrooms that’s already begun will really take off in the next five years. Future technology in the classroom will learn from the student while he or she is learning their daily lesson. “Cognitive computing, or learning technologies, will help us calculate everything we can about how each student learns and thrives, then create flexibility in the system to continually adapt and fine-tune what we deliver to that student and how this supports teachers and employers,” says Katharine Frase, IBM’s VP and CTO of Global Public Sector.

Retail

How many of us shopped on Amazon this holiday season? It may seem like online behemoth’s are stamping the local brick and mortar businesses out of existence, but IBM says a firm grasp on future technology could change this in the next five years. “Retailers will layer increasing levels of engagement and personalization on top of the shopping experience, ultimately merging the instant gratification of physical shopping with the richness of online shopping and making same-day delivery a snap,” says Sima Nadler, IBM’s Research Lead for Retail. According to Gizmag, “IBM has already demonstrated such technology in the form of an experimental augmented reality app that automatically delivers personalized coupons, offers, customer reviews and hidden product details to shoppers in stores.”

Healthcare

Mortality is a fact of, well, life, but according to IBM, future technology could help us to better prepare for it. The company predicts that DNA testing will move from a costly procedure to a mainstream tool doctors can use to test for cancers, or develop personalized treatment options for conditions such as stroke and heart disease.

Security

In perhaps the most strange and slightly terrifying prediction, IBM says future technology will provide each of us with an “online guardian” that will learn your habits to help protect your identity and sensitive information (I wonder if it works for the NSA too?).

Cities

Smart phones are already ubiquitous in big cities, but in the future, IBM predicts that they’ll making living in dense urban areas easier and more enjoyable. “For citizens, smart phones enabled by cognitive systems will provide a digital key to the city. People can have fingertip access to information about everything that’s happening in the city, whether an experience is right for them, and how best to get there,” says IBM’s Human Systems researcher Sergio Borger.

Related on Ecosalon

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Images via keoni101 and IBM

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VideoA visual match-up of two cities.

First a collection of prints and then a big, Paris vs. New York now goes to video. Any francophile or lover of the Big Apple will appreciate the charm and simplicity of the differences between the two global metropolises captured in this video..

Paris vs New York from TonyMiotto on Vimeo.

The post Video: Paris vs. New York appeared first on EcoSalon.

Trees do more than provide shade.

Is the oak tree outside your home the next Superman? New research suggests that it may be more protective than it appears. Geoffrey Donovan conducted a study in Portland, Oregon, which showed a negative correlation between tree size and crime rates. The larger the crown area of trees, the lower the crime rates.

Well-established trees may deter potential burglars by creating the impression that an area is well cared for, and subject to effective authority. Donovan’s study controlled for a number of factors, including the ethnic makeup of the neighborhoods and the value of homes. However, Donovan also admits that areas with larger trees were probably historically well maintained, which resulted in lower crime rates.

This makes sense, as there is also a strong correlation between tree cover and income level. According to a study on the demand for urban forests, for every 1 percent increase in per capita income, there was a 1.76 percent increase in demand for forest cover. When income dropped by the same amount, demand for forest cover dropped by 1.26 percent. You can see this inequality from space (or Google maps).

If the ability to fight crime doesn’t seem like enough of a reason to plant trees, don’t forget the other valuable functions of urban trees. Urban trees keep your home cool by providing shade, scrub the air of toxins (and greenhouse gases!), and decrease storm runoff.

READ MORE:

Congresswoman Speaks for the Trees

Interview: Trees for the Future of Haiti

Green Innovations Inspired by Trees

–By Laura Hayden/image courtesy of Google Maps

Laura Hayden is an editorial intern at SIERRA Magazine. She is a rising senior at Mount Holyoke College, where she is pursuing a major in Environmental Studies, and a minor in Journalism. She has a passion for all things pertaining to growing (and eating) food, and renewable energy.

Image: Ed Coyle Photography

The post Can Urban Trees Fight Crime? appeared first on EcoSalon.

A round-up of what we’re reading right now.

Music and food: two of our absolutely favorite things. Here’s a list of 10 cities that are known for both. [Via Gourmet Live]

The sun’s out! You should probably be making an upcycled pallet planter about now. [Via Organic Authority]

If you’re in NYC, the Bicycle Film Festival starts today. [Via Bicycle Film Festival]

Doing good work from home means staying focused, and turning off email notifications happens to be one of them. [Via Unclutterer]

Your taste in music really does say something about you as a person. [How About We]

Getting trucks off the street, one pedal-assist cargo bike at a time. [Via Treehugger]

What would we do without the many benefits and versatility of coconut oil? [Via Stylelist]

Admit it, at one time, you wanted to look like Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle, didn’t you? The best looks from Nora Ephron films. [Via Lucky Magazine]

Image: Bill Oriani

The post Link Love: 10 Cities Known for Music and Food and How to Stay Focused When Working at Home appeared first on EcoSalon.

With millions moving from suburbs and rural areas into big cities, we’ll need creativity and innovation to sustainably manage rapid urban growth and revitalize flagging suburbs.

Forget paying for gas, mowing the lawn or spending hours of your week commuting to a faraway job. Why bother with all of that when you could hop on a bus or train at a moment’s notice, walk to the corner store, enjoy beautifully landscaped public parks and have all of the entertainment and culture you could wish for, right outside your door? There are plenty of good reasons why cities are looking so attractive, especially to youths who grew up in car-centric suburbs. But as cities begin to groan under the weight of all these new residents, the rising popularity of urban life begs the question: is rapid urbanization really a good thing? Can we manage the growth of cities sustainably, while maintaining all of the benefits?

Growing Pains

For years, urban advocates and economists have predicted that the trend of moving from cities to suburbs was about to reverse, and in a big way. The 2010 Census seemed to prove these predictions overblown, with suburbs continuing to grow while urban populations generally stayed about the same. But there was one notable trend: an increase in residential growth in city cores. The New York Times reported in November 2011 that, for the first time in decades, the number of people moving to New York City was higher than the number of people moving out.

Outside America, the trend is definitely picking up steam. In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half the world’s population was living in cities. By 2030, this number is expected to reach nearly 5 billion – and a lot of this growth will take place in smaller cities and towns that aren’t quite prepared for such a huge influx of new residents.

Heavily populated cities have a long list of both positive and negative impacts on the economy, the environment and human well-being. Cities enable people to give up personal vehicles in favor of buses, trains, subways and bicycles. Vertical housing uses fewer resources and takes up less land, making it far more efficient than unnecessarily large single-family homes. Walkability means people living in cities may get more exercise than their suburban counterparts. And when more people live in urban centers, more of the surrounding land can be preserved for agriculture, recreational green spaces and protected tracts of natural landscape.

But within each of those cities is seemingly endless streams of greenhouse gas emissions, congested streets, lack of affordable housing and a whole lot of trash, sewage and other forms of waste. Large urban populations put a worrying strain on local resources like water and electricity, and all that concrete leads to the urban heat island effect, contributing further to climate change. As cities grow, they tend to swallow vast amounts of land, with suburbs pushing ever outward. And though a thriving city is a major economic hub, offering lots of jobs, it’s also difficult and expensive to maintain, with many smaller cities going through extremely painful growth spurts as they try to adjust to rising populations.

Suburban Ghost Towns

The suburbs and exurbs that swelled with domestic promise thanks to the rise of affordable automobiles in post-World War II America are losing their gleam. Sprawling upper-middle-class neighborhoods filled with identical McMansions seemed like a great idea back in the early to mid-00’s, and with many people willing to commute longer to their jobs in order to achieve the suburban American dream, developers built them further and further from city centers. Today, many of these exurbs are nearly deserted, their formerly pristine lawns brown and overgrown. These housing developments, often located in otherwise rural areas, tend to be fairly isolated from commercial areas, requiring residents to drive many miles just to reach a grocery store. And when gas prices inevitably fluctuate, these exurban developments can seem more impractical than ever.

Take a look around nearly any suburb or exurb in the United States and you’ll see one sign of a cultural shift that will only worsen in the coming years: empty big-box stores. These cheap, poorly-constructed, aesthetically unpleasing metal boxes left behind by Walmart, Best Buy, Circuit City and other retail chains are hard to convert for other uses, so that they’re either knocked down and sent to landfills or simply sit vacant for years on end.

“We have long seen signs that the suburbs are unsustainable in their current form – in many senses, they were designed to be,” says Kurt Kohlstedt, founder and editor-in-chief of WebUrbanist.com. “Meandering roads are not conducive to transportation. A lack of sidewalks around shopping centers curbs walking. Suburban plots of land are too big to promote community but too small to sustain agricultural conversion.”

Some experts have predicted that if the middle class does actually abandon the suburbs in favor of cities, these neighborhoods will be left to blight. An Australian study concluded that high gas prices could turn car-dependent suburbs into slums, and many suburbs are now more likely to be home to minorities as white youth flock back to cities. It’s all too easy to imagine suburbs falling prey to poverty as their populations are cut off from the opportunities that cities can provide.

The Green Cities of the Future

If expanding cities are inevitable, what can we do to make them more sustainable? Designers, architects, urban planners, economists and other thought leaders around the world are already dreaming up solutions that range from imminently achievable to pie-in-the-sky fantasies, turning cities into real-world laboratories that explore new systems using cutting-edge technologies.

Renowned physicist Geoffrey West acknowledges that urbanization is responsible for a slew of economic, environmental and social problems, but shifts the focus to a big positive: cities as innovation hot-spots. In Thinking Cities, a 20-minute documentary by Ericsson, West discusses the ways in which cities can become “vacuum cleaners or magnets” for human creativity.

In order to prevent the many problems raised by rapid urban growth, we’ll need funding and political support for new technologies that can help us update infrastructure, manage traffic, build more efficiently, manage water and power supplies and reduce waste. Vertical urban farms that harvest their own water, run on renewable energy, recycle their waste and provide a number of essential functions to their residents are just one of the dazzling possibilities on the table. Sustainability-minded architects, engineers and planners are already beginning to imagine how old structures can be adapted for new uses, and new ones can be built to provide the ideal balance of residential, commercial, agricultural and recreational space.

Sustainable Visions For Outmoded Suburbs

And what about the big-box stores, malls and other relics of a suburban lifestyle that may go extinct? Many are already being reused in amazingly creative ways, transforming into cathedrals, farms, artist communities, roller skating rinks and indoor kart-racing tracks. An abandoned Kmart in California was even turned into a Spam museum. Big Box Reuse, a book by Julia Christensen, gathers ideas from designers and architects that include building an entire town in a single parking lot, adapting a warehouse-style store to include windows and a light-filled courtyard and swapping out a big-box store’s roof for translucent skylights so plants can be grown inside.

Dwell’s Reburbia competition solicited solutions that would envision a new future for suburbs, with the winning entry transforming McMansions into biofilter water treatment plants. Another idea involves rezoning suburbs for commercial use, specifically geared toward communities of small businesses. Judge Jill Fehrenbacher of Inhabitat.com noted that this idea was “clearly the most practical, cost-effective and energy-efficient proposal submitted to Reburbia.” Incidentally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agrees with this overall sentiment, advocating more mixed land use and other changes to suburban zoning codes in order to handle urban growth.

Of course, when it comes to actually putting these ideas into practice, caution will be required to prevent a bunch of half-baked projects that will only add to the problems. And on a global scale, there’s no telling how radical visions of the future will be put into practice.

“Perhaps the most interesting question is how cities, suburbs and countryside will be reshaped in places like China and India where booming populations are most rapidly changing both physical and cultural landscapes,” notes Kohlstedt. “In China, for instance, the dominance of the state paves the way for massive redevelopment projects on a scale unknown to the West. This has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it lends itself to economies of scale and rapid adaptation. On the other hand, it has also already led to entire ghost towns constructed from scratch then left eerily unoccupied.”

Photos: http2007, robertstinnett, vertical farm, dwell

The post The Future of Cities: Greening Urban Growth appeared first on EcoSalon.

Greening the urban jungle.

Hidden in the gravel and concrete that dominate today’s cities, it is possible to find tiny plots of green. Whether it’s an eco-activist art installation, a city-funded park, a guerrilla gardening experiment, or just a weed that has broken through a crack in the sidewalk, these urban green spaces provide pops of nature where you least expect it. This photo collection highlights some of our favorite examples from around the world.

The High Line, New York, New York, USA

The Pothole Gardener, London, England

Guerrilla Gardening, Tokyo, Japan

Bus Roots by Marco Antonio Castro Cosio, New York, New York

Le Mur Vegetal, Melbourne, Australia

Brussels Farmer, Brussels, Belgium

The Green Carpet, Jaujac, France

Glenwood Green Acres, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Pothole Gardener, India

Urban Cactus, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Guerrilla Gardening at Occupy Oakland, California

NoPark by Natalie Jerimenjenko, New York, New York

Moving Forest by NL Architects, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hoop Goodenia in a Boot Project, Melbourne, Australia

Lugo History Museum, Lugo, Spain

Social Guerrilla Gardening, Southern California

Plant Pockets, San Francisco, California

Skip Conversions by Oliver Bishop-Young, London, England

Roof of Canada Malting Co., Alberta, Canada

Guerrilla Gardening, Rome, Italy

Little Community Garden on Falmer Road, London, England

Park(ing) Day, San Francisco, California

Kensington Market, Toronto, Canada

GuerArsenal, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Posterchild, Toronto, Canada

SEE ALSO:

40 Gorgeous Photos of Europe

40 Gorgeous Photos of North America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Latin America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Asia

40 Gorgeous Photos of Africa

25 Photos of Islands Threatened by Climate Change

25 Images of Female Adrenaline Seekers

40 Photos from Flea Markets Around the World

30 Gorgeous Photos of Winter Snowscapes

30 Gorgeous Photos of Farming and Agriculture

15 Hilarious Photos of Interspecies Mingling

30 Photos of the World’s Most Uniquely Designed Buildings

20 Photos of Female Activists Throughout History

30 Gorgeous Photos of Spring

30 Gorgeous Photos of Traditional Textiles

The post 25 Photos of Urban Green Spaces appeared first on EcoSalon.

7 stories about cities working together to make their communities stronger and greener.

We love our cities – and while it’s easy to point to the negative environmental impacts of urban living, they’re less than half the story. From the 10 best cities for making their inhabitants feel healthy and happy to the subtle influences of city architecture on interior design, we’re fascinated by the impact of this most modern of social inventions, the urban sprawl. Here are seven examples from our archives of the fascinating things that happen when lots of people get together.

Human beings are increasingly an urban global culture. Take Africa: in 1900, less than 5% of this continent’s population lived in urban areas: today, it’s over 35% – and growing by more than 4% a year. Across our blue-green planet, more than 3 billion people cluster together in densely-populated forests of stone, metal and glass. We’ve always had this habit, but it’s only recently that we’ve developed the tools to really go to town.

Turning Cities In On Themselves: the Urban Eco Revolution

We’ve always thought we had roofs covered. They had to be barren, hostile places the rain and the wildlife slid from before they could do any damage. Nature had no place on our roofs. Except…we couldn’t have been more wrong. A green roof may require a little extra engineering behind the scenes, but it’s far better than its non-living counterparts for regulating house temperature, filtering out pollutants, scrubbing the surrounding air, controlling stormwater run-off, absorbing sound and many more factors that impact our quality of life. A green roof is a healthy roof.

17 Living Roofs: The High Tech Green Future of Architecture

Forget the days of mindlessly jumping in a taxi to go from point A to point B. Urban hiking is all about planning, executing and enjoying the journey, another great example of slow travel. According to the Urban Dictionary, urban hiking is “the exploration of diverse urban environments on foot.” Conservation and travel groups alike promote urban hiking, as it not only gets people outdoors and active, but also allows them to explore the ins and outs of urban landscapes.

The City Girl’s Guide to Urban Hiking

In the convenience-drugged city of tomorrow, the only sweat you’ll break is when you’re deciding which button to push. Utopian dream? We say: urban nightmare. We spend our day in the thrall of convenience technology…and then heads straight to the nearest super-expensive gym to compensate. With modern life in full swing, who needs The Onion? Luckily there are architects who recognize the danger and, like Nintendo, are sneaking gyms into our lives without us realising. Their thinking is: why consume electricity when calories can be burnt instead? So the urban fabric gets a healthy makeover, like the much maligned stairwell. Cars are zoned out of existence and replaced with their human-powered counterparts (saving you cash in all sorts of ways). Parks and paths are expanded, and everywhere can be reached by a sidewalk. Healthy commuter, coming through. For specifics, check out the New York City Department of Design + Construction’s Active Design Guidelines.

Where Cities are Taking Us: 10 Urban Eco Trends

Turns out that this urban foraging thing is a bit of a movement. There are groups springing up all over the country – not to be confused withFreegans – a philosophy I support in principal, though you’ll never catch me dumpster diving. I prefer the idea of waste diversion before it hits the dumpster. Portland, Oregon has a network, Santa Fe has a map, LA has Fallen Fruit, San Francisco has a wild foraged food CSA.

The New Hunter Gatherers: Urban Foragers

Honking cars emit foul black clouds, skyscrapers blot out the sun, litter lines the gutters and healthy green space can be hard to come by. But in many of America’s biggest cities, these negative traits are being eclipsed by clean, efficient public transit, bike-friendly infrastructure, multiplying trees, reliance on renewable energy and a fierce pride in locally-produced products. Slashing greenhouse gas emissions and coming close to zero waste is no easy feat for a metropolis with a population of at least 250,000, but these 10 cities – from Boston to San Francisco – prove that sustainability is possible on the largest of scales, in good economic times and bad.

Hard Economic Times Be Damned: 10 U.S. Cities Make Their Own Green

Let’s meditate for a moment on how people really want to live – in aesthetically-pleasing, affordable homes with shared outdoor space, tree-shaded dead-end streets that keep the neighborhood cooler in the summer, save money on infrastructure, eliminate through traffic and create quiet and safe spaces for children to play and neighbors to meet. Spaces for ball games, picnics, gardens, vineyards, and orchards. Beneath the SUVs and strip malls, suburbia has a green heart.

New Urbanism and the Green Heart of Suburbia

Images: Ofer Wolberger for Popular Mechanics; ecogeek; brartist; telmo32; bentza; Tony the Misfit; Pear Biter and Mike Behnken.

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Looking to relocate? Start here.

Each year, the healthiest and happiest cities in America are named by public agencies, private consultancies, magazines, blogs and now even Foursquare. These lists consider key indicators like fitness, diet and emotional well-being, as well as more concrete factors like number of farmer’s markets and ratio of sunny days. In honor of National Nutrition Month, here’s a rundown of the best of the best.

San Francisco, California (Top Image)

Early adventurers seeking the Fountain of Youth should have stuck flowers in their hair and headed for San Francisco, which was recently named the best city for staying young by the RealAge 2012 Youngest and Oldest Cities report. Certainly San Francisco’s top billing on Prevention Magazine‘s list of America’s best walking cities helps. Add a strong emphasis on local and organic food and a low incidence of smoking, and you have the best anti-aging recipe in the country.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu residents are among the country’s slimmest people, according to Self magazine. One contributor is diet; Honolulu reports the highest number of Foursquare check-ins to healthy eating establishments, like farmers markets, fish markets, salad shops and juice bars, as a percentage of total check-ins to restaurants and shops. It’s a winning combination for mental health too: Honolulu leads the nation in Emotional Health according to last year’s Gallup Well-Being Index.

Raleigh, North Carolina

A focus on preventative medicine earned Raleigh the title of Healthiest City for Women in Men’s and Women’s Health‘s annual survey, which ranks metropolitan cities in 30 areas ranging from fitness to diet to disease. Life expectancy is high, especially since the vast majority of women stay on top of regular health examinations like mammograms and pap smears.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

The American Fitness Index from the American College of Sports Medicine ranked Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington the best metropolitan area for healthy, fit and active lifestyles. The Twin Cities boast high numbers of public recreation areas, which likely contributes to their low levels of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Low poverty and unemployment levels are just the cherry on top.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lancaster residents certainly have something to smile about. The city scored highest in 2011 on the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which examines life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors and access to basic necessities. Lancaster also boasts one of the highest per-capita rates of green roof space in the country.

Phoenix, Arizona

Blue skies are the norm in Phoenix, which made Self magazine’s list of the Healthiest Cities for Women because of its high sunny day ratio. Retirees flock there for the pleasant weather and easy lifestyle.

San Jose, California

Residents of San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara reported the highest well-being among metropolitan areas with a million or more inhabitants, according to the Gallup Well-Being Index. San Jose also leads America in Foursquare check-ins for physical fitness.

Burlington, Vermont

Burlington topped this year’s list of the Healthiest Cities for Men from Men’s and Women’s Health, and it was ranked the healthiest city in America by the Centers for Disease Control in 2008. Burlington also has the most farmer’s markets in the country according to Self magazine’s listing, which confirms our theory that healthy eating can solve all manners of maladies.

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder’s wide array of outdoor pursuits make it the best U.S. city for weight loss, according to Prevention magazine. Not only are its residents active hikers, bikers, and yogis, but the city also offers loads of fresh, local cuisine. The endorphins seem to be having an impact; Boulder made the top of the Gallup Well-Being Index in 2009.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Residents of Ann Arbor reported the best overall life evaluation in 2011, according to the Gallup Well-Being Index. This may be thanks to an emphasis on education and innovation. In the past year, Ann Arbor has been ranked among America’s Geekiest Cities by Forbes, Most Educated Cities by U.S. News and World Report, and Most Well-Read Cities by Amazon.com. The city certainly proves that enlightenment is a key to health and happiness.

Images: Beto Ruiz Alonso, Gsgeorge, Bob Jagendorf, Church Street Marketplace, messycupcakes, Ludovic Hirlimann, North Carolina National Guard, Victoria Garcia, Tim Wilson, the_tahoe_guy

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