Campbell, OH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026

Project Category: Improved wayfinding

Description: Eight walk audits will review walking conditions across all city wards with help from older adult volunteers. The results will inform future planning conversations about sidewalk and crossing safety.

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.

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.