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Plan + Place with Morningside-Glendale Neighborhood Association (2024) Print
2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Walk Audits
└ Walk Audits
Older adults faced unsafe walking conditions and limited mobility options, making it harder to cross busy streets and stay connected. Two walk audits engaged 65 residents, nearly half age 50-plus, to identify hazards and explore placemaking strategies using AARP worksheets. The workshops sparked partnerships with city and state agencies and positioned the neighborhood to advocate for sidewalk murals, pedestrian triangles and a history trail. Participants said the effort was long overdue, with one noting, "I have been waiting for these kinds of improvements for a long time. This is so important for our neighborhood."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Centennial, CO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Walk Audits
Description: Older adults and people with mobility challenges faced barriers accessing a 71-mile urban trail, making safety and usability urgent concerns. The project engaged residents in walk audits and partnered with local university students for a trail-wide accessibility review. Feedback led to a pilot "slow zone" to curb speeding cyclists and informed plans for resurfacing that will widen paths and add ADA ramps. These audits created a model for future engagement, ensuring older adults voices shape trail improvements.
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AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
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New York, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Walk Audits
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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.
Ely, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
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