Houston, TX

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Many residents of Houston's Gulfton neighborhood live in apartment buildings, which lack outdoor space. Organizers with My Connect Community set out to give these residents a place to gather. They created a placemaking tool kit tailored to multifamily property owners. The kit includes portable carts adorned with laser-cut designs meant to represent Gulfton's diversity. Each cart also features a shade umbrella and a chalkboard. Additionally, the kits include outdoor rugs, bistro lighting and seating. Then My Connect Community hosted a series of pop-up events on side streets and in on-street parking spaces. The temporary activations gave Gulfton residents a chance to socialize with one another and allowed organizers to share information about community resources, such as public transit service and library programming. In the future, My Connect Community hopes to ensure community events are culturally informed and engage volunteers who speak residents' languages.

Monroeville, AL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Organizers with Monroeville's Main Street initiative hoped to draw residents to the city's historic downtown district. To give people a reason to gather outdoors, they added wheelchair-accessible game tables and seating in several locations, including the grounds of the Monroe County Museum, two parks, the local YMCA and a senior center. The organization also purchased checkers and chess game pieces, which are available to visitors to check out. Part of a larger campaign to decrease littering and encourage community pride, organizers also installed trash cans downtown. And to increase facetime with constituents, the newly elected mayor also called on residents to challenge him to a game of chess or checkers. Organizers say the placemaking project is meant to unite the community by giving people a place to connect with each other.

Gardner, KS

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: To generate community support for a planned greenspace in Gardiner, the City created a parklet. Organizers hoped the temporary installation -- created in the footprint of two on-street parking spaces -- would help residents envision the value of outdoor space improvements coming soon to city hall. The pop-up space consists of benches, a table, planters and shade canopies. The parklet's portable, modular design makes the space reconfigurable, allowing the City to set it up different locations -- even after implementation of its long-term park project.