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North Adams, MA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Housing Choice Design Competitions
Description: The North Adams Partnership seeks funding for an ADU design competition to address the housing needs of residents age 50 and over. The competition will create affordable housing options, allowing older adults to downsize while staying connected to their community.
Bellingham, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Housing Choice Design Competitions
Description: Bellingham's housing shortage left many older adults without options to age in place, even after an ordinance allowed accessory dwelling units (ADUs). To raise awareness, Sustainable Connections hosted an ADU Design Competition that drew 45 submissions and thousands of public votes. The event featured an awards celebration and collaboration with Aging Well Whatcom to ensure designs met aging-in-place needs. The effort educated residents and designers, strengthened ties between planners and developers and sparked momentum for more ADUs, helping older adults live independently while staying connected to family.
Iowa City, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Housing Choice Design Competitions
Description: To expand affordable housing options, Johnson County tackled restrictive ADU policies through a creative approach: Lego design competitions at fairs, libraries and festivals. The events drew 156 participants and hundreds of visitors, sparking conversations about zoning flexibility. Volunteers shared materials on ADU benefits, and advocacy led Iowa City to adopt nearly all proposed code amendments. Parents at the events voiced interest in ADUs for aging relatives, signaling growing community support for housing solutions.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Trenton, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Bikeability
Description: The Trenton Health Team wanted to encourage older residents to take up cycling by increasing the community's access to bikes. The organization launched its bike share program, which they geared toward older residents. They obtained 20 bikes, three adult tricycles and a two hand-powered cycles. Then they piloted the bikeshare during Trenton's annual open streets festival. In 2022, the East Trenton Collective offered up a carriage house on its property as a community bike hub for trainings, events, repairs, storage and lending. To spruce up the site, the Trenton Health Team commissioned a fence made of recycled bike parts and artistic bike racks, as well as signage designed by a local artist. The bikeshare is now permanent, with plans to lend out bikes at the community's senior center.
Stockton, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Bike Audits
Description: This project will conduct a bike audit along a 12-mile stretch of a Scenic Byway heavily used by cyclists. Audit results will be shared with municipalities, land managers, and the general public.
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