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ACTION Services (2022) Print
2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
Organizers with Action Services noticed that many participants in their day program faced solitary, sedentary lives at home. So they set out to create an outdoor therapy and gathering space, designed to be accessible to people of all ages and abilities. First, volunteers poured a concrete slab to serve as a play surface. They then added a basketball hoop and oversized checkerboard painted on the pavement. They also installed benches and picnic tables onsite. To give community members access to fresh, healthy produce, they set up garden boxes for growing fruits and vegetables and planted fruit trees. Organizers say the improvements have led to more older adults spending time outdoors, actively participating in activities.
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See More Projects Like This One
West Memphis, AR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The town of West Memphis hoped to promote community connections, cycling and walking. To achieve this, the town set up three parklets in its Main Street District, located near an expanded bike trail that links West Memphis with neighboring Memphis, Tennessee. Parklets -- mini street oases created in the footprint of a parking space -- provide places to sit, talk and gather. The West Memphis parklets each feature LED lighting and public art. Sculptures created from donated bicycles distinguish two of the parklets. The other parklet features new wooden benches and an oversized sculpture of a guitar, meant to pay homage to the town's musical heritage.
Gallatin, MO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Gallatins Main Street lacked safe, accessible spaces, leaving older adults at risk on poorly lit sidewalks and struggling with a hard-to-use entrance. The center addressed this by installing dusk-to-dawn LED lighting at its storefront and alley, adding a commercial door with ADA-compliant features and placing a weather-resistant bench and table set for outdoor socializing. These upgrades improved safety, accessibility and community engagement while modernizing the buildings appearance. One participant said the new door is "not only aesthetically pleasing, it is safer for us."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Dade City, FL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Community parks lacked ADA-compliant picnic tables, leaving older adults and families without safe, comfortable places to gather. Responding to resident requests, the city installed 10 sturdy tables with signage and concrete pads across multiple parks, creating accessible spaces for rest and celebration. These upgrades encourage older adults to spend more time outdoors, walk to parks and connect with loved ones. Residents shared excitement on social media, saying they plan to visit more often now that seating is available, making Dade City parks more inviting for people of all ages.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Morrilton, AR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: With the addition of several new hammocks near Morrilton's nature trail and park, the Parks and Recreation Department provided a place for all ages to pause, lean back and relax. According to the City, the installation has led drivers to slow down to look at the hammock farm, with some visitors trying out hammocks for the first time.
Conway, AR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Bikeability
Description: Riding a bicycle into downtown Conway once involved a search for bike racks, which were in short supply. To fix this, Conway Downtown Partnership created a bike corral. Volunteers painted a brightly colored mural on the pavement to define the corral space, which features a bike rack. The corral supplies a safe, convenient place to park a bicycle and gives cyclists a place to gather and socialize before and after rides.
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