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Washington, DC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project activated a space outside the Genesis apartment community. Volunteers painted murals and installed lighting, planters and seating. This enabled organizers to state a fall harvest festival for residents.

Hartsville, SC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project will transform a vacant event space into an indoor farmers market with renovated restrooms, vendor booths, and ample lighting. It will provide a safe, accessible, and comfortable environment for community events.

Imperial, NE

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: A vacant lot in the heart of Imperial's downtown had been an eyesore for decades. To put the space to better use, the City of Imperial activated the space, creating a new pocket park. Volunteers helped create several murals onsite and installed a mosaic dragon sculpture, designed to double as a play structure for children. Using upcycled existing picnic tables and railroad ties, they also created a circular seating area, dubbed the chatroom. Local elementary school students and residents of an assisted living facility teamed up to paint tiles to decorate outdoor sectional couch. And volunteers laid down artificial turf -- a material chosen to make the mini-park easy to maintain. Raised flower beds completed the space. Since the mini-park's completion, organizers say community members continue to brainstorm ways to improve the pocket park, which they say has revitalized Imperial's arts scene.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

Eufaula, AL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: This project will create a community garden equipped with at least five raised beds for growing flowers and vegetables, as well as three accessible benches. All the food grown there will be provided to local low-income families.

Albany, GA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Many communities in Lee County lacked accessibility features and infrastructure to bring residents together. To address this, the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission installed recreational equipment, outdoor art and other amenities in several municipalities. In Albany, the Commission commissioned a large sculpture of a turtle to compliment the town's other public art installations. In Leesburg, it installed park benches and message boards in the community's nature park, which joined outdoor games and cedar benches purchased by the local housing authority. And in Thomasville, the Commission created a pop-up porch, which extends useable sidewalk space into on-street parking spaces. The portable porch can be transported, reconfigured and installed in different locations, allowing residents to gather for conversation and events. The popularity of the parklet inspired a local arts organization to install their own portable porches for its annual art exhibition.

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