Albany, GA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Many communities in Lee County lacked accessibility features and infrastructure to bring residents together. To address this, the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission installed recreational equipment, outdoor art and other amenities in several municipalities. In Albany, the Commission commissioned a large sculpture of a turtle to compliment the town's other public art installations. In Leesburg, it installed park benches and message boards in the community's nature park, which joined outdoor games and cedar benches purchased by the local housing authority. And in Thomasville, the Commission created a pop-up porch, which extends useable sidewalk space into on-street parking spaces. The portable porch can be transported, reconfigured and installed in different locations, allowing residents to gather for conversation and events. The popularity of the parklet inspired a local arts organization to install their own portable porches for its annual art exhibition.

Navassa, NC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Trails

Description: This project will install educational storyboards and benches along a section of the trail at historic Reeves Chapel so that visitors can learn about the area's history.

Lapwai, ID

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Public spaces improvements to increase high-speed internet availability

Description: This project will create a covered bus stop equipped with Wi-Fi outside a local library, as well as an indoor gathering space focused on the audio, visual and mobility needs of older adults.