Physical Activity

Healthy Places for Active Living

Parks, trails, and green spaces bring physical and mental health benefits. Communities with housing, schools, jobs, grocery stores, and other services located near each other are healthier for the people who live there. In communities designed for health equity, people of all backgrounds and abilities have opportunities to be active.

Community Is at the Center

We envision a Minnesota where people of color, Indigenous, immigrant, and low-income communities have access to places that meet their needs for physical activity. These communities have been disenfranchised and underinvested in for generations. Racist policies, systems, and generational poverty are root causes of historical trauma and many chronic health conditions.  Well-intentioned programs and practices will fail when they are embedded in inequitable systems. Thus, we focus on a targeted-universalism approach that centers communities most impacted by inequities. This means asking who experiences the worst outcomes and why, while partnering with equity-minded, community-led organizations to ensure equity principles are included at decision-making tables. We work with culturally and geographically diverse organizations, along with residents, schools, neighborhood organizations and government entities.

Long-term commitments are needed to address deeply entrenched obstacles preventing people from being active within their own communities. By supporting community-driven, culturally relevant efforts to advance equitable policies, systems, and environments, we believe we can build a healthier Minnesota.