AARP Eye Center
AARP Livable Communities Map
See More Projects Like This One
Asheville, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: After Buncombe County Recreation Services installed new instruments in Charles D. Owen Park -- including lily pad cymbals, a tenor tree, tuned drums and flower gongs -- park attendance increased nearly 20 percent in one year. The instruments, created by the Freenotes Harmony Park company, don't include sharps or flats and are designed to be played using arm and hand muscles rather than fingers. That way, people of all musical abilities can play them without training. More than 400 people also participated in three workshops focused on designing artistic tiles for the new space with themes of compassion, peace and diversity. The creation of the Real Possibilities musical garden sparked new projects, including the park's first TRACK Trail (self-guided, family-friendly outdoor adventures with prizes), enhanced sports courts and bird nest boxes that allow researchers to study tree swallows.
Union City, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project will turn an unused wooded lot into a centrally-located, easily-accessible dog park with accessible gates, benches and a gazebo to provide a gathering spot for older neighborhood residents.
Brunswick, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Part of larger plans to revitalize Goodyear Park, this project improved landscaping around the park's new labyrinth. To give visitors a place to rest and reflect as they navigate the contemplative walking path, volunteers also installed ADA-accessible benches onsite.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Lafayette, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: The city will collect older adults' stories and use them as inspiration for public art. The placemaking project aims to combat blight in the Lincoln neighborhood by creating vibrant outdoor spaces.
Kokomo, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Improved wayfinding
Description: To encourage residents to be more physically active, the YMCA in Kokomo raised their awareness of county trails, parks and other recreational amenities. The YMCA created signs for the city's trolley stops and for its Walk of Excellence Trail. The signs communicate the distance, direction and walking time to local attractions, including parks, the Kokomo Municipal Stadium and the Kokomo Beach Family Aquatic Center. They also provide information about accessibility for people with disabilities. The project gave the YMCA an opportunity to partner with local stakeholders, such as the city's parks and recreation department and the Indiana University Design Center. Since this effort, the city of Kokomo has continued to promote biking. In 2018, the city launched a free bikesharing program that provides adults and children with bikes, as well as helmets and locks.
LEARN MORE AND STAY INFORMED
Find articles and resources about making communities more livable for people of all ages
Download or order free publications from AARP Livable Communities
Sign up for the free, weekly, award-winning AARP Livable Communities eNewsletter
Don't see your community listed?
LEARN HOW IT CAN JOIN THE NETWORKConnect with your AARP State Office
AARP has offices in all 50 states as well as in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
AARP Indiana State Office
One N. Capitol Avenue
Suite 1275
Indianapolis, IN 46204
United States