Houston, TX

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Improved wayfinding

Description: Organizers with the Greater Northside Management District wanted to help pedestrians reach local businesses and other neighborhood amenities. They also hoped to increase public safety, support public art and create a sense of neighborhood identity. To do this, the District installed signs in five neighborhoods. The large-scale signs can display multiple pieces of information at once, including directions and distances to businesses, public safety statistics, the location of neighborhood amenities and how to catch a bus or check out a bike from the local bike share. Additionally, they can showcase artworks, with local schools encouraged to submit student work for exhibit. The signposts also have a placemaking element -- each displays the name of the neighborhood in large, metal letters. By creating a sense of place and helping visitors navigate, project organizers say the wayfinding effort will support economic development on Houston's Northside.

Belchertown, MA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Improved wayfinding

Description: Located near schools and an assisted living community, the Lake Wallace Sensory Trail is designed to welcome trail users of all abilities, including those with limited mobility or sensory issues. The rope-guided trail with Braille markers -- one of four in the state -- serves as a model for future accessible projects. This project added new tactile signs in Braille. Another feature gives visitors the option to lower the new trailhead kiosk to wheelchair height for easy access. Signage along the trail points out intersections, resting spots and information about lake ecology and the site's history. Part of the Belchertown Heritage Trails network, the sensory trail has since attracted more additional and community involvement.

Charlotte, NC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019

Project Category: Improved wayfinding

Description: Sustain Charlotte hoped to build enthusiasm for the concept of ten-minute neighborhoods -- places where people can meet their daily needs without needing to own a car. Based on input from residents of Charlotte's North End, the organization designed and installed 86 wayfinding signs. Each displays a QR code, which visitors can scan with their smartphones to view a map of neighborhood amenities, including parks and recreation centers, schools and public transportation. Following this project, Sustain Charlotte has continued its relationship with North End residents. The North End Community Coalition now serves on the steering committee for the Charlotte Regional Transportation Coalition, which Sustain Charlotte started in 2020. That coalition advocates for equity-centered transportation improvements, which include pedestrian and bike infrastructure. Since then, the City has increased its budget for transportation projects to make biking and walking safer.