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Iola, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project built a musical playground featuring outdoor, mounted instruments in a flower garden on the grounds of Allen County Regional Hospital.
Aibonito, PR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project will restore the plaza in El Campito, adding non-slip flooring, lighting repairs, ergonomic benches, outdoor exercise equipment, and tables for dominoes or chess.
Lynchburg, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To organizers with the Downtown Lynchburg Association, an underused, dead-end street had potential to draw visitors downtown. The Association transformed the space into Art Alley -- a vibrant, outdoor art gallery. To activate the space, volunteers covered the pavement in turquoise, orange, pink and green paint. They also set up string lights overhead to provide illumination. Finally, they created the Spark Joy Gallery by installing panels that display digital artworks. Project organizers say the placemaking effort has since inspired nearby property owners to spruce up their building facades, and the Art Alley has become a must-see for tourists passing through town.
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Des Moines, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Expansion and enhancement of transportation options
Description: To expand transportation options to more residents, this project created a call center. This allows older adults who don't own smartphones to access rides hailing services by phone -- something previously only possible through an app. To further help residents get around, Aging Resources provides older adults with up to eight free rides each month.
Des Moines, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: In the early to mid-1900s, the Waveland Trolley was an integral part of Des Moines' transportation system yet has long since been replaced by more modern options. The Des Moines Historical Society's Waveland Trolley Project set out to commemorate the city's rich history by transforming a long-neglected space into a walkable outdoor transit museum. The park-like setting is located on the former site of the trolley loop, where streetcars would turn around at the end of their route. The outdoor museum features benches, bike racks, panels displaying historical information and a life-sized sculpture of the Waveland Trolley.
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Des Moines, IA 50309
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