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Mount Airy, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Market Street lacked accessible seating and amenities, limiting its appeal for older adults and reducing opportunities for social interaction. The city installed picnic tables, two fully accessible benches, bike racks, recycling containers and decorative lighting to create a welcoming plaza. These upgrades encourage outdoor dining, leisure and mobility for people of all ages. Residents and business owners praised the changes for making the area more inviting. The city plans to promote the space for festivals and events, ensuring continued use and intergenerational appeal.
Halstead, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The Kansas Learning Center for Health addressed isolation and health disparities by creating a welcoming outdoor space in Halstead. Eight benches and four swings were installed in the community garden, fitness area and shaded historic corner, giving older adults safe places to rest and connect. Volunteers and residents age 50-plus added 20 colorful art pieces to concrete pads, turning the area into a vibrant destination. The project has boosted walkability and social engagement, with one participant noting, "I go walking daily and it has been a blessing to have places to stop and rest."
St. Louis, MO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The North Hanley Transit Center had long lacked seating, shade and visual appeal, creating an unwelcoming environment for riders. The project added benches with backs and armrests, canopies, colorful pavement art and murals, along with updated shelters and wayfinding. These improvements made the station more comfortable and inviting, and have prompted further investment and discussions of large-scale development. As one transit operator noted, "This station looks fresh and inviting. The seats are great and riders seem so much happier."
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Rock Hill, SC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Garden classes for older adults were in high demand, but without an on-site space, participants lacked hands-on experience. The city transformed a courtyard into a pollinator garden by clearing invasive plants, preparing soil and installing beds, a bench and educational signage. Lifelong Learning participants helped plant and maintain the garden, which now enriches classes and fosters community engagement. One volunteer even signed up as a future instructor, showing how the project sparked new connections and expanded opportunities for experiential learning.
Rock Hill, SC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Lifelong housing and accessibility
Description: This project will supply older adult clients and community members with accessibility accessories to increase the safety, livability, and accessibility of their homes.
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