Albuquerque, NM

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety

Description: Students in Albuquerque's International District faced unsafe routes to school, with traffic hazards and crime, while older adults nearby experienced isolation. The Walking School Bus launched biweekly walks, providing 453 safe passages supported by 261 volunteers, including older adults. The project also transformed the Wilson Trailway with murals and hosted visioning sessions to guide improvements. These efforts strengthened community ties, promoted pedestrian safety and created an intergenerational model where older adults and children walk together, fostering connection and shared responsibility.

Albuquerque, NM

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety

Description: To help Albuquerque residents stay physically active and access nutritious food, the Mid-Region Council of Governments repurposed an underused parking lot into a pop-up community wellness and walking hup. Volunteers repurposed wooden pallets to construct benches, tables and planters. They also planted fruit trees and added bird feeders to the site. To give residents a space to meditate, organizers also created a wellness labyrinth onsite. Using paint, they delineated a walking path across the parking lot and created an artistic crosswalk nearby. Additionally, the Council created and displayed interactive walking maps -- available in both English and Spanish -- along with pavement decals displaying QR codes. The QR codes allow smartphone users to access information online about walking and nutrition programs. Organizers say the project is a first step in larger efforts to address health disparities experienced by the community's Latino, Hispanic and Native populations.

Salt Lake City, UT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety

Description: Unsafe streets and limited transportation options in Glendale put older adults and children at risk near schools and local housing. The council developed an active transportation plan and installed traffic-calming murals to slow cars and engage residents. The plan sets long-term goals for safer, walkable streets and improved transit access, while murals sparked interest in 16 more locations. "The street murals were a fun and engaging way to connect with residents."