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Camden, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: A vacant lot on North Camden's waterfront was unappealing and attracted illegal dumping. The Camden Community Partnership decided to give the lot new life by turning it into a gathering space for residents of all ages. As part of larger efforts to activate the space, the Partnership commissioned a local artist to create a mural onsite. The artist asked older adults questions about their community and used their responses to inform the mural's design, which volunteers helped paint onto a nearby building. Since its completion, project organizers say the mural has served as a model for other local public art projects, with three additional murals in the works. The new greenspace has also tied into other community building work, including development of trail along the Delaware and Cooper Rivers.
San Diego, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project helped transform a vacant lot in San Diego's City Heights neighborhood into a vibrant gathering space for residents of all ages. To encourage community members of the dense, diverse neighborhood to connect with each other, the Community Development Corporation installed art at the new public space. Since this activation, the space continues to provide a spot for artists to display their work. Project organizers say although the installation was intended to be temporary, it reinforced the value of creating similar community spaces in the future.
Kaneohe, HI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The Rotary Club engaged contractors and volunteers to clean up a 35,000-square-foot gravel lot on Aloha Drive that had become an eyesore. Volunteers worked with landscape architects to plant hundreds of shrubs and thousands of smaller plants throughout the lot, creating a pocket park. Leveraging a range of funding resources, organizers transformed the space into a community oasis they have dubbed Centennial Park.
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Portland, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Housing Choice Design Competitions
Description: AIA Maine will host a design competition to explore innovative housing solutions for underserved communities. The event will include educational sessions on accessibility, aging in place, and lessons learned from the competition.
Augusta, Bangor and Westbrook, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: To increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists, the Bicycle Coalition of Maine held a series of short-term traffic calming demonstrations in Bangor, North Yarmouth and Bangor. The pop-up installations increased the visibility of crosswalks and shortened crossing distances with simple, cost-effective tools. The Coalition deployed flexible lane delineators and pedestrian-crossing signs. They also painted pedestrian landings at crosswalks and added shared-lane markings -- called sharrows -- to street pavement. To gage the effectiveness of these activities, the organization collected survey responses and traffic data, which showed that traffic speeds decreased and pedestrians appreciated it. Project organizers say the demonstrations helped prove to municipal leaders that streets are for people -- not just people in cars -- and improving safety is possible without complex, expensive road construction.
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