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Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
Woodruff Park's game cart allows visitors to borrow games, sports equipment and other recreation items at no charge. To improve the kiosk's appearance and attract visitors, the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District partnered with local graphic design students to create highly visible decals. They also used checkerboard decals to convert round park tables into game tables. Finally, the organization purchased new supplies for the game cart, including coloring books, watercolor paint kits and markers and crayons. Following the improvements, the BID used the tabled to host chess tournaments, which attracted new visitors to the park.
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Richmond, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Richmond's Main Street offered no seating, making uphill walks difficult for older adults and limiting social interaction. After preparing the site, Lifelong Richmond installed seven benches with volunteer support, creating safe resting spots near shops and the library. The benches quickly became gathering places for errands and events, reducing isolation and encouraging outdoor activity. Residents praised the change during the town's holiday celebration, and officials plan to add more benches to expand access.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Kaneohe, HI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The Rotary Club engaged contractors and volunteers to clean up a 35,000-square-foot gravel lot on Aloha Drive that had become an eyesore. Volunteers worked with landscape architects to plant hundreds of shrubs and thousands of smaller plants throughout the lot, creating a pocket park. Leveraging a range of funding resources, organizers transformed the space into a community oasis they have dubbed Centennial Park.
Cut Bank, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project will create a 1.4-mile paved, ADA-compliant path connecting the City of Cut Bank to the School Districts Sports Complex and Glacier Historical Museum. It aims to provide a safe walking route for pedestrians.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Atlanta, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Reconnect Communities
Description: The City of Atlanta Department of City Planning created a storytelling effort to bring older adults lived experience into conversations about past infrastructure decisions. In neighborhoods affected by highway construction and urban renewal, many residents felt their memories were missing from how the city planned its future. The project hosted oral history workshops at recreation centers, using a porch style setting that made it easier for older adults to share personal stories. Participants recorded reflections on loss, resilience and neighborhood life, forming the foundation of a public archive. A digital story map paired these voices with historical research. Residents said the work helped them feel seen and acknowledged by the city. The growing archive is now informing planners and community members as discussions continue about reconnecting divided areas. The project also set the stage for continued story collection through a broader oral history network.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Atlanta, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
Description: To educate the public about options to age in place, MicroLife Institute created a 4-minute informational video on accessory dwelling units -- small dwellings built on a property alongside a preexisting single-family home. The video features firsthand accounts of what it's like to live in or build an ADU. For Katharine Connell, a young Atlanta mother and homeowner, an ADU means multi-generational housing for her aging mother. My mom and I have always been very close, she tells viewers. For others in the video, renting out an ADU led to supplemental income or provided tenants with more affordable option, helping them remain in their neighborhood. Organizers say they hope the video serves as a tool to mobilize residents to demand their local commissions permit more housing options, including ADUs.
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