Christiansted, VI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Christiansted has few accessible green spaces where older adults can gather, garden and support healthy aging. Mobility barriers and limited transit options have made it harder for residents to reach outdoor places that offer shade, seating and social connection. St. Croix Foundation advanced planning for an intergenerational community garden and wellness space at Sunday Market Square through a community-led design process. Older adults and nearby residents shaped accessibility, planting choices and safety features through focus groups and public engagement. The work produced a preliminary design and secured historic approvals, positioning the project for installation. As one participant noted, visible follow-through showed that feedback was reflected in the plans and "builds trust, speaks volumes." By centering older adults early, the project accelerated a long-standing vision for a green space that can expand access and intergenerational activity.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Center Harbor, NH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: The James E. Nichols Memorial Library addressed a lack of safe, accessible outdoor space for older adults near the town center. The closest park bordered a busy road and steep terrain, limiting use by people with mobility challenges. The project added accessible outdoor seating, shade umbrellas with chairs and upgraded security. Volunteers age 50-plus helped install the furnishings. The improvements increased outdoor social use and prompted plans for additional ADA-compliant access.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Kuna, ID

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Kuna has a large parking lot in the center of its downtown that goes largely underused for most of the year. To spark the community's imagination, the City and Idaho Smart Growth hosted the Park for a Day event, which turned the lot into a pop-up plaza. The event featured live music, a food vendor and sketches illustrating ways the space could be permanently transformed. Attendees also contributed their own designs for the parking lot. Suggestions included using the space for a series of short-term, recurring events, such as an Oktoberfest, a Christmas village, a renaissance fair or themed dance nights. The City went on to explore several ideas from the pop-up event, including paving the parking lot with solar panels and installing green stormwater infrastructure to sustain landscaping at the site.