State College, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places

Description: To help localities gather feedback from residents about local livability, this project developed a guide to community engagement techniques. The pilot project, called One Community - Many Generations, also included an online assessment tool. To test the guide and virtual survey tool, project organizers convened community members -- including elected leaders -- who used the online tool to share their feedback, followed by a virtual conversation. Input from residents led the University to purchase stone benches, which they installed in downtown State College, giving people an outdoor gathering space. Since then, working groups formed during the pilot have continued to improve the community. Recent projects include trash cleanup, improved signage and intergenerational events.

Baltimore, MD

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places

Description: Sundays in the Street was originally a proposal to close two busy streets to vehicle traffic -- for only two Sundays each month. But after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Baltimore, the car-free experiment became permanent. Project organizers set out bollards and large planters to block off two streets in the Fells Point neighborhood, turning the area into an open-air plaza. This created space for children to play, older adults to stroll and residents to gather safely. The site hosted outdoor dining, kids' activities and live music. Already underway in the spring of 2020, the initiative gave Baltimore a jump start and provided a model for other communities dealing with COVID-19 shutdowns.

St. Paul, MN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places

Description: St. Paul's North End, originally settled around 1850, once was a magnet for European immigrants who worked for the railroads. In the late 1900s the neighborhood became a haven for migrants from Laos, Somalia and Burma, making it one of the most diverse places in Minnesota. The District 6 Planning Council, a local community organization that later changed its name to the North End Neighborhood Association, wanted a way to convey multilingual community and events information to residents who don't use the internet. The organization purchased five message boards and install them at two community gardens, at an outdoor seating area by an ice cream shop and in other locations.