Tucson News Now: Rancho Sahuarita recognized for its healthy community design

“TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) –

A Southern Arizona community is being recognized nationally for its commitment to healthy living.  What exactly are they doing to get the attention – they have built a healthier area for residents to live in.

With Pima County looking to get healthier, there is now more miles of bike lanes for bicyclists to ride on, and the City of Tucson is working towards adding 10,000 more trees.

Some of the efforts from towns and cities in Pima County are receiving big time recognition.

With a community south of Tucson being among the first – Rancho Sahuarita has just been recognized as one of only about a dozen places in the world that are successfully helping build a healthy community.

Rancho Sahuarita is a housing development in Sahuarita with about 15,000 people, it was built in 2001. The Urban Land Institute is giving compliments to Rancho Sahuarita for its parks and open spaces that allow people to exercise and play in.

Plus one of the key parts of the award is that the development also provides solutions to logistical concerns like providing affordable childcare and fitness activities.

Now other developers could be looking to build future housing areas with ideas created by Rancho Sahuarita, to keep growing more healthy living options for people. “