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MainStreet Roswell (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
Roswell often experiences daytime temperatures well over 112 degrees Fahrenheit. The tourist town also welcomes more than 200,000 tourists each year. This project set out to help visitors and residents alike walk in downtown Roswell despite the brutal heat. Over the course of several years, Maitreet Roswell collected plastic bottle caps and container lids -- part of an effort it called Bottlecaps to Benches. Project organizers then sent a tractor trailer full of the caps to a recycling plant in Indiana, which sent back 30 benches made from recycled plastic. Maitreet Roswell then installed the benches throughout the town's commercial district, allowing pedestrians to sit and recover from the heat.
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Washington, DC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Genesis residents lacked a safe, inviting outdoor space, leaving older adults and families isolated. The project installed 20 resident-painted mural panels, solar lights and a welcome sign, and redesigned the patio with movable seating for performances. A fall celebration with food and music marked the transformation. "The murals look so lovely, and the lighting makes this area feel more inviting," said one resident, noting how the space now fosters pride and connection across generations.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Lapwai, ID
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The library will convert an unused side lot into a safe, accessible green courtyard featuring benches and garden beds. This space will support outdoor programs and provide residents with a quiet place to relax away from traffic.
San Jose, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the local economy in San Jose's Washington neighborhood. To help meet the community's needs, Veggielution hosted free arts and environmental education programming. The local nonprofit, which aims to connect people through food and farming, invited people to the SoFa pocket park, which the organization created on the site of an underused parking lot. Events included a monthly garden art workshop and live musical and theater performances by local arts organizations. Additionally, Veggielution worked with a local arts school to create a mural for the pocket park. The activities helped link residents to resources, such as food assistance and entrepreneurship training, and connected local nonprofit organizations to each other, creating a better web of support for the community.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Alamogordo, NM
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: When a major streetscape project threatened to cut off downtown access, Alamogordo MainStreet turned an unsafe alley into a welcoming corridor. Uneven surfaces and poor lighting were replaced with raised garden beds, ADA-compliant benches and pergolas with lighting. Eight murals were created by local artists and volunteers. The alley now hosts classes, food trucks and photo opportunities, and will provide safe access during construction. "Transforming our once overlooked alley into a vibrant, art-filled space is a game-changer... creating a sense of place and fostering community pride," said a city commissioner.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Albuquerque, NM
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The Barelas Community Coalition hoped to create a welcoming, multigenerational gathering space to allow community members to eat, play, and learn together. The organization constructed a shade structure, added a bench, installed solar lighting and displayed signage at a public courtyard. The outdoor area is part of the Las Esquinita complex, an indoor commercial space that includes a small food hall and artisan market. It is also located next to a new food truck park, which the Coalition helps manage. Today, the space serves as a public art venue where resident can communicate their ideas, wants and feelings alongside an existing mural. Project organizers say the project helped secure long-term support for their activation efforts and allowed the community to rally around local revitalization activities.
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