Milwaukee, WI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Responding to growing social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers with the Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation hoped to give residents a place to socialize outdoors. Focusing on Milwaukee neighborhoods with a high density of vacant lots and a lack of public green space, the nonprofit repurposed vacant, city-owned parcels into community gathering spaces. Volunteers mowed grass and removed debris to prepare the lots. The resulting five Healing Spaces now feature benches, pergolas, perennial flowers and ADA-compliant walking paths. Soon after activating one formerly vacant lot, organizers reported seeing teens picnicking onsite -- a sign of the space's potential to foster togetherness. Today, the spaces host community events, including yoga sessions and health workshops.

Houston, TX

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Many residents of Houston's Gulfton neighborhood live in apartment buildings, which lack outdoor space. Organizers with My Connect Community set out to give these residents a place to gather. They created a placemaking tool kit tailored to multifamily property owners. The kit includes portable carts adorned with laser-cut designs meant to represent Gulfton's diversity. Each cart also features a shade umbrella and a chalkboard. Additionally, the kits include outdoor rugs, bistro lighting and seating. Then My Connect Community hosted a series of pop-up events on side streets and in on-street parking spaces. The temporary activations gave Gulfton residents a chance to socialize with one another and allowed organizers to share information about community resources, such as public transit service and library programming. In the future, My Connect Community hopes to ensure community events are culturally informed and engage volunteers who speak residents' languages.

Nashville, TN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: To help older adults age in place in their community, Rebuilding Together Nashville made improvements to three community spaces in the Bordeaux neighborhood. The nonprofit gathered feedback from residents to choose which spaces to update. At FiftyForward Bordeaux -- a senior center -- volunteers installed a shade structure, allowing visitors to comfortably gather outdoors. They also added a shed onsite and updated the center's interior, including painting and installing shelving. The Infinity Center is an after-school center that hosts children's theater and community classes. There, volunteers replaced windows, sealed water leaks and repaired a dilapidated deck. Finally, they helped Brooklyn Heights Community Garden transition from a group of raised beds to a full-scale urban farm. Volunteers demolished and moved old garden beds and prepared the site for a new pack and wash station, greenhouse and production garden.