This video out of the City of Saginaw caught our eye in a few ways. First, this new Fitness Court opened looks awesome and the way they did a ribbon cutting by turning it into a fitness competition between a Saginaw firefighter and police officer was super creative and fun to watch. But even more awesome, is the fact that this new park is an excellent example of Community Wealth Building in action – literally.

The Michigan Municipal League defines community wealth building as strategies that build community and individual assets, creating resilient and adaptable systems to address social and economic needs. One of the social needs in Saginaw, and it’s probably safe to say it’s a need in every community, is having accessible activities for all residents that promote good health. This new fitness court does exactly that. One of the key pillars identified in creating community wealth building is public health. This new park falls under that public health area because it addresses the quality of life disparities that exist in a community by increasing health impacts and improving upon the human experience for all.

This new park also inspires trust and belonging since it’ll become a gathering place for the community. And trust and belonging are essential social and emotional components to building community wealth. You could even argue that this fitness court touches on another of our community wealth building pillars – financial security – because people could save money by canceling a gym membership and instead use this park to help with their fitness needs.

And we couldn’t help but notice seeing immediate past MML Board President – Saginaw Mayor Brenda F. Moore – in the video helping promote the new park.

Here is some additional info about the fitness court from the Riverfront Saginaw Facebook page:

Kudos to Saginaw to making this happen!

https://fb.watch/6pvJD1L9fe/