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Gary, IN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Residents of Genesis Towers -- an affordable housing complex for older adults -- often congregated in a vacant lot in Gary's downtown. This project set out to activate the lot into an accessible gathering space. Local students worked to gather input from residents about their hopes for the new park, and the City held design workshops. Plans for the space featured ADA-accessible walkways, seating, picnic tables and raised garden beds. Organizers also worked to provide free Wi-Fi access in the space, as well as a bike repair station. Organizers say the park is designed to host free or low-cost events -- part of the overarching goal of combatting social isolation through innovative public spaces.

Milwaukee, WI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project contributed to efforts to revitalize a park, creating a safe, outdoor gathering for residents of Milwaukee's Historic King Drive neighborhood. Improvements included bollards with solar-powered lights, accessible picnic tables, trash receptacles and orange benches branded with the name of the neighborhood. Additionally, the BID convened an art task force and used tax increment financing to fund a new mural in the neighborhood. The success of the project also build momentum for branding efforts in nearby neighborhoods.

Louisville, KY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project made a series of placemaking improvements to the Woodlawn Avenue business district, located in the Beechmont neighborhood. First, the Center for Neighborhoods added pedestrian-level lighting along the street to improve safety. They also converted three parking spaces into an outdoor cafe space. Originally meant to be temporary, the picnic area's popularity spurred project organizers to create Louisville's first permanent parklet in the spot, which includes a deck, seating, a green wall and planter boxes. Beautification efforts also included activating a nearby alleyway. That included painting a mural for the space, which community members named Beechmont Alley. New, accessible parking spaces helped make the corridor more welcoming to people of all ability levels.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

Fort Myers, FL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017

Project Category: Bikeability

Description: Streets Alive partnered with four other organizations to hold a bike rodeo event for children in Fort Myers' Dunbar neighborhood. A dozen volunteers completed a training course on how to teach safe cycling skills. Another volunteer worked with Franklin Park Elementary School to obtain a supply of loaner bikes for the young participants. At the event, children went through a series of stations to be fitted with helmets, have their bikes inspected for safety and receive coaching on how to start, balance and stop their bikes. They learned cycling rules of the road, including hand signals and where to ride on the street. They also received training on how to stay safe as pedestrians when crossing intersections and facing traffic. The organization staged another bike rodeo in 2020.

Fort Myers, FL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Housing stability

Description: This project will connect older adults struggling with housing costs with fellow older adults seeking affordable homes. It aims to allow homeowners to age in place while offering secure housing to older adults in need.

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