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Citizens for Modern Transit (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
As part of its efforts to boost public transit use and spart economic development around transit stations, Citizens for Modern Transit activated the Emerson Park light rail and bus station in East St. Louis. To choose a theme for the station and ensure the new amenities would meet the community's needs, project organizers held design workers and other community engagement events. They then installed new seating, shade structures and a sound system to pipe music into the space. A local artist collaborated with community members to create pavement art and a mural, which pay tribute to the area's musical history. Organizers say they hope the new space promotes creative play, cultivates community and encourages people to ride public transit.
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See More Projects Like This One
San Juan, PR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project will develop a gathering and celebration space in front of Casa Museo Ismael Rivera for musical and traditional dance performances.
Baltimore, MD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project helped activate an alleyway by creating an Outdoor Community Library and installed an artistic metal gate to secure it. The Urban Oasis uses the space to host story times with older adults reading to local students.
Middleburgh, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To make its parks and business district more accessible to a wide range of people, the Village of Middleburgh installed six benches and two multi-use tables. Village staff report those benches and tables proved useful during the COVID-19 pandemic when they provided older adults with a place for safe, outdoor activities. The project also attracted additional private and nonprofit donations for future improvements in Middleburgh and inspired plans for other accessibility projects, such as adding a wheelchair lift to the village hall.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
St. Louis, MO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: This project will gather and share stories on how benches near transit positively impact riders and communities, aiming to connect social infrastructure and encourage further investment.
St. Louis, MO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Engaging people in transportation options/safety
Description: To showcase possible long-term upgrades to the North Hanley light rail station in Cansonville, Mo., Citizens for Modern Transit held a pop-up festival. The event prioritized community engagement, giving participants several ways to share their ideas. The St. Louis County Department of Planning invited attendees to use Lego bricks to build a model of amenities they hoped to see at the station. People recorded themselves sharing their vision for the site at a self-expression stop. Visitors could also write their ideas on a large banner. To help inspire people, the event showcased murals created by a local artist. The feedback gathered during the event informed permanent changes. Today, visitors to the site will find new seating and shade structures, as well as murals painted on the pavement. The theme for that transformation is Transit: We All Ride Together. And since 2017, Citizens for Modern Transit has gone on to improve several other transit stops in the St. Louis region.
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