AARP Eye Center
AARP Livable Communities Map
See More Projects Like This One
Providence, RI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
Description: This project will purchase laptops that older residents can use to learn about technology and the internet. It will also provide residents with support and instruction.
Greenfield, MA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The City of Greenfield removed 250-square-feet of asphalt from a downtown parking lot, converting it to a pocket park -- a space for people instead of cars. The Fiske Avenue Pocket Park features benches, a chess table, a bike repair station, a pollinator garden and a quirky bee sculpture. Project organizers say the new, centrally located green space supportz a central goal of the city's Sustainable Master Plan: to create a vibrant, walkable downtown. Additionally, removing the asphalt supported efforts to mitigate stormwater runoff. The project's success also helped the City secure a 200,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation.
Indianapolis, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Public or private transit access
Description: It rains more than one out of three days, on average, in Indianapolis. To give riders of the city's public transit system a more comfortable wait for the bus -- even in wet weather -- IndyGo made outfitted three bus stops with shelters. Additionally, they added sidewalk ramps and seating to make them ADA compliant, allowing people of all ages and abilities to use them.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Columbia, SC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The City of Columbia set out to provide outdoor seating along Main Street, an area that attracts pedestrians and hosts events that draw visitors from the surrounding region. Project organizers say that people now have a spot to work on their laptops, enjoy a cup of coffee or take in a meal from nearby food trucks. Although staff originally removed and stored the tables at the end of each day, their popularity spurred the City to leave them out permanently. And when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the colorful tables and chairs provided residents with a safe space to gather outside. Because the seating is heavily used, the City has explored more ways to provide seating on Main Street.
Columbia, SC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: As part of efforts to activate space and increase the vitality of Columbia's downtown, this project created the city's first parklet. Parklets transform on-street parking spaces into public gathering spaces. Originally intended to be temporary, Columbia's miniature park consists of a ground-level, fenced-in deck featuring an art installation, a cafe table and chairs and new planters. While several nearby restaurants lack outdoor seating space, the parklet remedied this, giving visitors a space to eat and socialize. To gather public feedback about the new space, city staff displayed a QR code onsite, which linked to an online survey. Spurred by the success of this project, organizers made plans to add more parklets downtown. City staff have also looked into creating a parklet ordinance, which would allow local businesses to create similar spaces in the future.
LEARN MORE AND STAY INFORMED
Find articles and resources about making communities more livable for people of all ages
Download or order free publications from AARP Livable Communities
Sign up for the free, weekly, award-winning AARP Livable Communities eNewsletter
Don't see your community listed?
LEARN HOW IT CAN JOIN THE NETWORKConnect with your AARP State Office
AARP South Carolina State Office
1201 Main Street
Suite 1720
Columbia, SC 29201
United States