Woodbine, IA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Improved wayfinding

Description: To create a sense of place in the downtown Historic District, Woodbine Main Street designed and installed a dozen interpretive signs. The signs -- which volunteers placed on downtown buildings -- communicate historical facts, as well as local cultural context and human-interest stories. Project organizers say the placemaking initiative turns the district into an outdoor museum. Woodbine Main Street features the signage in its series of walking field trips -- part of the organization's efforts to improve walkability throughout Woodbine.

Clarksville, TN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Improved wayfinding

Description: To encourage people to park their vehicles and travel on foot, the City of Clarksville installed signs near underutilized parking lots, which display directions and walking times to destinations around downtown. The hope was that knowing the time commitment for walks would give pedestrians confidence they could manage city distances comfortably. At its Shop Small Saturday event in 2020, the City set up a booth to talk with passersby about the signs. Project organizers reported shoppers were surprised to learn how short walks were from destination to destination. The signage is part of a larger effort to promote active transportation -- such as walking and biking -- in Clarksville.

Seattle, WA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Improved wayfinding

Description: The Pike Market Food Bank, part of Seattle's landmark Pike Place Market, provides free meals, groceries, healthy activities and other assistance to more than 5,000 low-income and unhoused residents. But the food bank's location in the Market parking garage -- one floor below street level -- made it difficult to find. Staff worried this discouraged those in need from using the food bank's services. To solve this, the organization installed directional signs on exterior walls and near elevators to guide people to the site. Additionally, grant funds helped the food bank to paint its interior, making it more welcoming to clients.