Gary, IN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Residents of Genesis Towers -- an affordable housing complex for older adults -- often congregated in a vacant lot in Gary's downtown. This project set out to activate the lot into an accessible gathering space. Local students worked to gather input from residents about their hopes for the new park, and the City held design workshops. Plans for the space featured ADA-accessible walkways, seating, picnic tables and raised garden beds. Organizers also worked to provide free Wi-Fi access in the space, as well as a bike repair station. Organizers say the park is designed to host free or low-cost events -- part of the overarching goal of combatting social isolation through innovative public spaces.

Helena, MT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: One of Helena's main cultural attractions is the Myrna Loy theater, a performing arts center and movie house in the Rodney Street neighborhood. To make the outdoor area next to the theater more welcoming, the Myrna Loy installed ADA-accessible benches, added artistic bike racks, hung LED party lights and constructed planters. Additionally, they decorated dumpsters and a nearby vacant historic building with artwork. Since these improvements, the community has continued to redevelop the space, adding murals and other public art.

LaBelle, FL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Downtown LaBelle was once a thriving destination, but in recent years many businesses have moved to different parts of town. Particularly challenging was an unusable tennis court, which sat vacant right in the heart of the downtown. To make the area more attractive to residents and visitors, the LaBelle Downtown Revitalization Corporation created a new, multigenerational space in the footprint of the tennis court. Project organizers removed the court's worn concrete and equipped the space with a roofed gazebo, placing seating and game tables underneath.