Lebanon, NH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: To assess the housing stock in 67 municipalities in New Hampshire and Vermont, the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission launched its Keys to the Valley Website. Grant funds supported website management and efforts to promote its use. The website includes an open data portal, where site visitors can engage with regional housing data, read personal stories, view maps and use interactive tools for analysis. Aerial and ground photography highlight the different types of housing across the region. Project organizers hope the website will highlight each community's unique housing needs, as well as features such as proximity to grocery stores and hospitals. To promote the site, commission staff created a video, launched a newsletter, attended public engagement events and talked with residents about the Keys to the Valley initiative.

Jackson, MS

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Part of wider efforts to beautify the South Jackson neighborhood, this project activated several vacant lots, turning them into community gardens, creative market spaces and pocket parks. The revitalization initiative also added seating and landscaping at a bus stop, painted a mural and made repairs to housing subdivision entrances. Community members volunteered to help with the efforts. In recent years, South Jackson has struggled with business closures and vacant housing. In a letter to the community, Coalition Executive Director Bennie Hudson wrote, We must do something about this for ourselves as elders and adults, but even more for our children and youth. In the future, project organizers hope to set up a homeowners association for the neighborhood to support ongoing maintenance and future improvements.

Wilton, NH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: The project will create a shaded, accessible gazebo situated at a location where older residents can observe wildlife and catalog what they see for a natural resources inventory.