AARP Eye Center
)
AARP Livable Communities Map
Silver City MainStreet (2022) Print
2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
To attract visitors to the downtown area, this project established a game area and installed large photos depicting historic flooding in the town.
Photo Gallery
Image:
Click on a photo to learn more
See More Projects Like This One
Ellsworth, WI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Ellsworth's once-bustling East End corridor had declined over several decades, with a 60 percent vacancy rate along Broadway Street. The Local Chamber of Commerce hoped to see the neighborhood rise again as a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use area. To promote its vision, the Chamber commissioned six murals celebrating local agricultural history. They also put up light pole banners and window clings with branding for the neighborhood and added benches, bistro tables and hanging planter baskets along Broadway Street. The Chamber then staged a historical walking tour, which garnered local news coverage and spurred the County historical association to consider designating the East End as an official historic district. In conjunction with these placemaking efforts, the Chamber launched a pop-up program for small businesses opening in the East End. Following that initiative, two of the participating decided to operate permanently in the neighborhood.
Santa Rosa Beach, FL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project created a gaming area -- including a ping-pong table, cornhole game and checkers/chess table -- at the Coastal Branch Library in an existing green space.
Kansas City, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Kansas City's Rosedale neighborhood has lacked a community center for some time, so the Rosedale Development Association renovated and reopened a community meeting space. They added flooring, a barrier-free threshold to provide easy access for people with mobility limitations and a wall anchor system for displaying art and historical artifacts The space now hosts community events, including coffee and conversation meet-ups, adult education classes, yoga sessions and youth activities.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Silver City, NM
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: Silver City Maitreet hoped to create a sense of place in Big Ditch Park while improving the pedestrian experience. To do this, the organization created a brightly colored artistic crosswalk designed to make people crossing the street more visible to drivers. The nonprofit also worked with volunteers to create two murals -- one depicting a mountain scene and another serving as a selfie wall. Project organizers report visitors frequently take photos at the selfie wall. They also say other communities have reached out for guidance on how to do their own placemaking projects. Silver City Maitreet has since identified two other streets for future activation.
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 has offices in all 50 states as well as in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
AARP New Mexico State Office
535 Cerrillos Road
Suite A
Santa Fe, NM 87501
United States