AARP Hearing Center
AARP Livable Communities Map
Downtown Action Team with Minnesota Main Street (2018) Print
2018 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
Downtown Action Team partnered with Minnesota Main Street to encourage residents of all ages to come downtown, walk down main street and learn about local history. To encourage socializing, they rearranged underutilized benches downtown, grouping some with new outdoor tables to create places for residents to sit and linger. Organizers installed plaques featuring photos and a brief narrative on the benches. Additionally, they adorned tabled with imagery and text explaining New Ulm's history.
Photo Gallery
Image:
Click on a photo to learn more
See More Projects Like This One
Woonsocket, RI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project transformed the area outside the Aging Well older adult center into a safe, inviting space for outdoor exercise, as well as a gathering place.
Forest City, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project will provide spaces for gathering and dining outdoors by adding seating and shade coverings throughout the Grahamtown neighborhood. The communal spaces will welcome older adults by allowing them to rest away from the sun's rays.
Loiza, PR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project will create an accessible space at the Emiliano Figueroa Torres Community Center. It will feature ergonomic benches, game tables, raised garden beds, and solar-powered lighting.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Sleepy Eye, MN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The project will create walkable access and rest areas connecting the senior center, museum, Chief Sleepy Eye Monument, Veterans Park, and local shops. It will include benches, trash receptacles, flowerpots, and a mural.
Saint Peter, MN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project will convert a vacant lot into a downtown plaza and community event space, providing a gathering place for residents and visitors.
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 Minnesota State Office
1919 University Avenue
Suite 500
St. Paul, MN 55104
United States