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Avoca Public Library (2018) Print
2018 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
Avoca's Main Street already had green space and places to sit, but Avoca Public Library organizers wanted to give residents a reason to spend time downtown. To invite people in, they installed oversized, weather-proof musical instruments outside the library. Since the instruments don't require any training or talent to play, they are popular with residents of all ages. Part of the town's creative placemaking plans, the new music park is located near the site of Avoca's weekly summer farmer's market. "It's a fun part of the town now," Avoca resident Sunshine Schoeller said.
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Atlanta, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: 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.
Ellsworth, WI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Ellsworth's once-bustling East End corridor had declined over several decades, with a 60 percent vacancy rate along Broadway Street. The Local Chamber of Commerce hoped to see the neighborhood rise again as a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use area. To promote its vision, the Chamber commissioned six murals celebrating local agricultural history. They also put up light pole banners and window clings with branding for the neighborhood and added benches, bistro tables and hanging planter baskets along Broadway Street. The Chamber then staged a historical walking tour, which garnered local news coverage and spurred the County historical association to consider designating the East End as an official historic district. In conjunction with these placemaking efforts, the Chamber launched a pop-up program for small businesses opening in the East End. Following that initiative, two of the participating decided to operate permanently in the neighborhood.
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.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Harlan, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Harlan library staff wanted to encourage families with children to explore Pioneer Park. To draw people in, they created a Story Walk. The library purchased twenty displays to house pages of a storybook, which they placed along the park's walking path. With their grandparents and parents by their side, kids enjoy running from sign to sign to reach the next part of the story. To keep the experience fresh, library employees swap out new stories seasonally.
Woodbine, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Improved wayfinding
Description: To create a sense of place in the downtown Historic District, Woodbine Main Street designed and installed a dozen interpretive signs. The signs -- which volunteers placed on downtown buildings -- communicate historical facts, as well as local cultural context and human-interest stories. Project organizers say the placemaking initiative turns the district into an outdoor museum. Woodbine Main Street features the signage in its series of walking field trips -- part of the organization's efforts to improve walkability throughout Woodbine.
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