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Chicago, IL

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Public plazas are not always grand sometimes they can make a big impact in a tiny space. The Rogers Park Business Alliance and other project organizers purchased a pop-up People Spot from the nearby Chicago neighborhood of Andersonville. The Alliance then deployed the People Spot on Clark Street, with the aim of amping up pedestrian engagement along Rogers Parks' commercial corridor. Also known as a parklet, the mini plaza extends from the sidewalk in what would otherwise be a parking space. Featuring new wood benches and greenery, the parklet offers visitors a pleasant spot to rest or eat lunch. In the future, the Alliance will move the pop-up plaza to different locations throughout the Rogers Park neighborhood.

Morrilton, AR

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project created an outdoor therapy space, designed to be accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Volunteers poured a concrete slab to serve as a play surface. They also added benches and picnic tables onsite.

Klamath Falls, OR

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: This project revived alleyways and increased public art displays.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

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.

Harlan, IA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Park enhancements

Description: Harlan library staff wanted to encourage families with children to explore Pioneer Park. To draw people in, they created a Story Walk. The library purchased twenty displays to house pages of a storybook, which they placed along the park's walking path. With their grandparents and parents by their side, kids enjoy running from sign to sign to reach the next part of the story. To keep the experience fresh, library employees swap out new stories seasonally.

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