AARP Eye Center
AARP Livable Communities Map
See More Projects Like This One
Hartford, CT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: KNOX rebuilt and upgraded the Hartford's Broad Street Community Garden to allow people of all ages and abilities to easily garden there. They added 22 raised garden beds, making plots more accessible to children, people with disabilities and older residents. Additionally, the organization hired a contractor to repair a garden fence and purchased a picnic table and a pergola -- a structure to create shade for gardeners. Since then, KNOX continues to create gardening opportunities for Hartford residents. The Hartford Courant reported in 2021 that KNOX manages 20 community gardens with a cumulative five acres of space. These include nearly 660 plots, each with an average size of 12 square feet.
Mobile, AL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: This project renovated walkways around the museum's community garden to make them fully ADA-compliant.
Montclair, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Montclair Community Garden has long been used by community members as a central gathering place, despite a lack of older adult-friendly amenities. The Montclair Community Foundation installed three raised garden beds, specifically designed for people with mobility restrictions, those who cannot easily bend down and gardeners who use wheelchairs. Additionally, the foundation installed an ADA-compliant picnic table, an 18-by-27-foot shade structure and new LED lighting. These changes enable residents of all ages and abilities to enjoy the garden. Now that the improvements are complete, project organizers say they are piloting a health education program at the garden, which will welcome patients whose doctors have recommended they spend time outdoors.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
San Diego, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: This project turned a patch of dirt in Linda Vista Community Park into a garden. Today, the site provided produce for a local environmental learning center. The garden also serves as an alternative food source in an area that's considered a food desert.
San Diego, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Part of Vision Zero work to reduce pedestrian fatalities, City Heights CDC worked to create a sense of space and improve safety at a dangerous intersection. The City Heights neighborhood is an enclave for refugees from Somalia and other East African countries. Residents -- particularly those 50 or older -- often gather in parking lots and on sidewalks at the busy area along University Avenue, which home to shops, markets and mosques. This placemaking project created a safe gathering space, separated from vehicle traffic. Working with residents' input, the CDC designed the space to reflect the neighborhood's culture. They installed seating, planter and tables with board game tops and painted a mural onsite. Organizers say the space helps combat social isolation and is a catalyst for investment in the neighborhood.
LEARN MORE AND STAY INFORMED
Find articles and resources about making communities more livable for people of all ages
![people icon](/sites/default/files/styles/card_icon/public/2020-07/icon-people.png?itok=1VDppQUn)
Download or order free publications from AARP Livable Communities
![download icon](/sites/default/files/styles/card_icon/public/2020-07/icon-download.png?itok=H1KkvZGb)
Sign up for the free, weekly, award-winning AARP Livable Communities eNewsletter
![mail icon](/sites/default/files/styles/card_icon/public/2020-07/icon-email.png?itok=cJNmjOcM)
Don't see your community listed?
LEARN HOW IT CAN JOIN THE NETWORKConnect with your AARP State Office
AARP California State Office
200 S. Los Robles Avenue
Suite 400
Pasadena, CA 91101
United States