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City of Madison (2023) Print
2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Transportation Systems Change
└ Transportation Systems Change
Busy state highways and missing accessible signals made walking downtown risky, especially for older adults and residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods. Madison responded by improving sidewalk paths with curb cuts, ramps and tactile pads, adding new crosswalks and wayfinding signs. It also created a micro-park with benches and footbridges along a creek. These upgrades not only provide safer routes to schools, shops and community spaces but also sparked broader planning for walkability and multi-modal transportation, giving residents a quiet place to connect and stay active.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Phoenix, AZ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Transportation Systems Change
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Dallas, TX
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Transportation Systems Change
Description: Better Block Foundation tackled unsafe streets and missing sidewalks in Dallas, where older adults lacked accessible spaces to gather. The team installed an ADA ramp, added benches at bus stops and introduced speed bumps near a food bank serving 1,800 families. Volunteers transformed a parking lot into a shaded seating area and created market stall designs for future use. The effort prompted city discussions on street redesign and tree planting. As one partner said about the speed bumps, "We are so grateful... It's very dangerous. We have needed them for a long time."
Los Angeles, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Transportation Systems Change
Description: Older Asian American Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles faced language and cultural barriers that made public transportation hard to navigate, leaving many isolated. To address this, the group provided in-language travel training, hosted monthly pop-up events at transit hubs and farmers markets and created culturally relevant route maps. Outreach connected with about 4,000 older adults, and volunteers offered one-on-one guidance. The effort secured a five-year city contract to expand language services and influenced policy changes, helping the participants feel connected and empowered with safer, more accessible transit options.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Monroe, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To give people an outdoor space to socialize in the heart of downtown, the City of Monroe transformed its visitor center's concrete patio into a new mini-park. The City brightened up the area by adding planters, seating, outdoor games and a mural painted by local youth. The City then unveiled the new space during the local fall festival. Additionally, project organizers made enhancements to the existing hammock park located next to the visitor's center. The site offers visitors a spot to relax in one of several hammocks. To accommodate more foot traffic, the City added bench swings and pergolas for shade. Inspired by the visitor center improvements, nearby businesses put out their own planters by their storefronts. Project organizers say the upgrades helped lift the spirits of residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Athens, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: Athens has a rich African American history that spans many generations, yet has lacked an appropriate venue to share its stories. The Downtown Athens Development Authority created a permanent exhibit at the Ware-Lydon House Museum about people enslaved in the region, which also featured stories about their descendants. The exhibit was developed alongside the museum's new, 40-volume African American heritage library and community conversation area, which includes tables and chairs where visitors can gather. Additionally, the Authority developed the first section of an African American Heritage Pathway walking tour, which travels between the museum and the home of one of the first vaudeville theaters in the U.S. built, owned, and operated by a Black entrepreneur.
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