Cuba City, WI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: For more than ten years, Cuba City's planning documents promised an intergenerational gathering space downtown. This project made good on that promise, converting a gravel parking lot into a gathering space. Organizers hoped the Presidential Plaza Project would increase walkability and draw traffic to Cuba City's Main Street business district. To activate the space, volunteers installed a bike rack, outdoor games and picnic tables with umbrellas for shade. A Wi-Fi hotspot provides free internet access for visitors. To beautify the area, residents painted a large mural on the pavement, which pays tribute to frontline workers' contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic. A later addition to the mural depicts the Mississippi river and includes an area for visitors to play hopscotch.

Seymour, IN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project created a gathering space outside of Anchor House's food pantry and emergency shelter. People visiting the food pantry often face long waits outdoors. To give people shade and protect them from rain, volunteers constructed an extended awning. they also painted a mural on the side of its building to beautify the space. The improvements also gives supportive service providers a space to interact with potential clients.

Albuquerque, NM

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: The weekly La Familia Growers Market in the Dolores Huerta Gateway Park provides South Valley residents with locally grown produce. To support the market's role as a culturally significant gathering space, project organizers purchased tables, chairs, a storage shed and cafe-style lights. They also procured materials to construct a horno -- a traditional outdoor oven made of adobe. Since then, the market has hosted free weekly musical performances and traditional cooking workshops, as well as the La Familia Growers Market Harvest Festival, attended by more than 500 people. In addition, project organizers conducted interviews with older community members - part of an oral history project.