Health and wellness will be at the core of a groundbreaking billion-dollar urban development in Tampa, Florida.

Real estate company Delos – which is collaborating on high profile wellness schemes with the likes of actor Leonardo DiCaprio – has masterminded the US$2bn (€1.8bn, £1.3bn) scheme, which will stretch to 40 acres.

While the district will feature familiar hallmarks of a city – including an urban waterfront and 200,000sq ft (18,500sq m) of retail, restaurant, hospitality and entertainment space – Delos says all aspects will be developed to offer “walkability; abundant green space, including low-pollen trees; sound barriers to support acoustic comfort; access to healthy foods; green infrastructure; and daily monitoring and reporting of district air quality.”

Over US$20m (€18.7m, £13m) will be spent specifically on state-of-the-art technologies and design strategies with a health and wellness focus.

Delos has partnered on the project with developer Strategic Property Partners and says that every design decision will meet its ‘WELL Building Standards’. This model ensures urban spaces that deliver high levels of water quality, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and peace of mind.

“More than half of all people in the world now live in cities, and we spend 90 per cent of our time indoors,” said Delos founder Paul Scialla. “The built environment – our cities – are human habitat, and we have the knowledge to design them to sustain our health, not to harm it.”

The project is expected to break ground in 2016, with phase one to be completed within five years. Delos estimates that approximately 7,500 people will directly benefit from the wellness community on a daily basis, with over three million visitors also expected every year.

Delos said: “We'll create a roadmap for how cities worldwide can be designed and developed to support public health.

“A growing body of evidence demonstrates that people living in walkable, compact, and connected neighbourhoods enjoy better health – including lower rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.”

The mayor of Tampa, Bob Buckhorn, said: “We're proud to be the first city in the world to be home to a WELL Certified District and to be the pioneer for this exciting initiative. Together, we'll demonstrate that city design – not just building design – can be healthy and sustainable, making Tampa a leader in the wellness industry and making our downtown a destination.”

Delos’ wellness standard has already been followed across 20m sq ft (1.8m sq m) of building projects in 12 countries. It's supported by the Clinton Global Initiative – a nonprofit organisation founded by former US president Bill Clinton to address international issues.

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