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Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (2017) Print
2017 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Engaging residents in vibrant public places
└ Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Among the goals of the Go, Go, Go: Making Our Community More Livable project was to enable Chinatown's residents to build friendships -- Go outdoors. Go be creative. Go make friends -- in a linguistically and culturally accessible way. One out of five Chinatown residents is an older adult and nearly 90 percent of those individuals have limited English proficiency. To help foster social connections, the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation offered free art classes, with local artists serving as instructors. The organization then created a pop-up Chinatown art gallery featuring work created in the classes. In addition, PCDC founded a community garden club. More than 150 people ranging in age from 3 to 87 participated in the activities. The PCDC hopes to continue offering free community at its Crane Community Center, which broke ground in 2017 -- the first space of its kind in Chinatown.
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Syracuse, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: Older adults in six public housing buildings faced isolation and limited access to health and safety information. To bridge this gap, the Housing Authority equipped each community room with projectors, screens and accessories, enabling interactive events and educational programs. Kick-off sessions featured fraud prevention workshops and showcased the new technology. These upgrades transformed shared spaces into hubs for learning and social connection, empowering tenant associations to host health fairs, movie nights and presentations that help residents stay informed and engaged.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Duluth, MN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: This project engaged teams of participants to design solutions that will make the city more age-friendly, with a focus on areas such as housing, transportation and more.
State College, PA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: To help localities gather feedback from residents about local livability, this project developed a guide to community engagement techniques. The pilot project, called One Community - Many Generations, also included an online assessment tool. To test the guide and virtual survey tool, project organizers convened community members -- including elected leaders -- who used the online tool to share their feedback, followed by a virtual conversation. Input from residents led the University to purchase stone benches, which they installed in downtown State College, giving people an outdoor gathering space. Since then, working groups formed during the pilot have continued to improve the community. Recent projects include trash cleanup, improved signage and intergenerational events.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Philadelphia, PA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Resources about housing options, safety and services
Description: An eviction prevention pilot program enabled tenants and landlords to resolve disputes before they escalated to formal eviction filings. The City of Philadelphia's two-month program provided mediation, financial assistance, information and referrals to help landlords and tenants reach mutually agreeable, out-of-court solutions. To do this, the City worked with partner agencies to train 10 experienced mediators in landlord-tenant law. The program also set up meetings between tenant advocates and tenants prior to mediation to assess their situation and offer advice. All participating landlords and tenants reported they were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the pilot. Moving forward, the City plans to use the results of this pilot as a model for a 12-month mediation program. In the long term, the City expects to see fewer evictions, reduced displacement and cost savings for landlords, property managers and the local homeless services system.
Philadelphia, PA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Housing Choice Design Competitions
Description: Philadelphia's shortage of affordable housing and restrictive zoning left older adults with few options to age in place. The Discovering Philadelphia's Missing Middle project engaged residents through workshops and surveys to shape designs for accessory dwelling units and other housing types. It also hosted a citywide design competition to spark dialogue. The effort raised awareness, produced advocacy materials and built momentum for policy reform. One steering committee member said, "Convenings like this are essential...we need this type of comprehensive thinking in Philadelphia."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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