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Dennis Center for Active Living (2022) Print
2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
Dennis Center for Active Living added an accessible outdoor patio to address the lack of space for social activities, a need heightened by pandemic isolation. The project built a 20x20 concrete platform with a wheelchair-accessible ramp, installed benches and placed six raised garden beds. Volunteers helped assemble furniture and plant flowers. The patio now hosts picnics, gardening and intergenerational events. "The DCAL Garden Patio is icing on the cake," said the project director, noting it fulfills a long-held vision for an inviting, inclusive gathering place.
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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Chillicothe, OH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The City of Chillicothe transformed a neglected lot in the Sixth Ward into its first neighborhood park, addressing a lack of green space in an area with high obesity rates and low life expectancy. The new pocket park features ADA-compliant walkways, benches, picnic tables and a playground, all within a fenced, well-lit space. Residents now have a safe place to gather and stay active, with one grandmother sharing that her grandkids "are so excited to walk to the park and play" while she enjoys sitting nearby.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Loiza, PR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Older adults in Torrecilla Baja lacked a free, accessible outdoor place to gather, be active and take part in wellness programs. The project built the Gazebo Amor Mayor at the community center, adding accessible benches and game tables, raised garden beds and solar lighting. Older residents helped through volunteering and a wellness planting workshop. The gazebo created a permanent gathering place that reduces isolation and supports ongoing wellness, cultural and intergenerational activities.
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.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
New Bedford, MA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Long stretches of Buttonwood Park's walkway lacked seating, making walks difficult for older adults and discouraged activity. Friends of Buttonwood Park installed eight benches along the southern half of the park, added wheelchair-accessible slab extensions and created a brochure showing bench locations. The additions make walking easier and more enjoyable, promoting health and social interaction. Residents say the benches let them rest, relax and stay active in the park.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Bridgewater, MA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: After the pandemic heightened isolation, the town lacked an accessible outdoor space for older adults to gather and garden. The Senior Center installed ADA-compliant raised beds and developed a master plan to organize the area, informed by listening sessions with residents and local leaders. The project is paving the way for intergenerational gardening programs and a Garden Club, aiming to reduce loneliness and foster inclusion while creating a vibrant community hub.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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