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Town of Cole (2024) Print
2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
To supplement American Rescue Plan Act funds being used to renovate a local park, the Town of Cole used grant funds to replace a dilapidated stage in the park, with a new accessible stage. The community looks forward to musicians returning to the stage for celebrations and events.
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Klamath Falls, OR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project revived alleyways and increased public art displays.
Cleveland, OH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The May Dugan Center, which serves low-income older adults in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood, hoped to create a welcoming gathering space for its Seniors on the Move program. To make the Center's outdoor area accessible, organizers outfitted the space with four ADA-compliant picnic tables. Additionally, the Center provided program participants with herb garden kits, allowing them to create windowsill gardens in their homes. Ultimately, organizers hope experience tending the kits will help SOTM participants hone their gardening skills, which they will use to plant flower beds and raised vegetable plots at the Center. This project is part of the nonprofit's larger mission to help older adults manage their financial, physical and emotional wellbeing, allowing them to safely age in place.
Somerville, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project paired local youth with graduate students to evaluate walkability and bikeability in Somerset. Youth ambassadors engaged with members of their community to identify barriers to walking and biking, as well as opportunities to make active transportation safer and more comfortable. Based on their findings, the students decided to construct a parklet in Somerville's Bound Brook neighborhood. The mini-park -- which sits in the footprint of a parking spot -- extends the sidewalk space into the roadway. The parklet is modular, allowing the student ambassadors to set it up at community events, including weekly farmers market and movie nights. Organizers hope the temporary space offers residents an attractive place to stop, sit and to rest while taking in activities on the street. Youth who participated in the project worked alongside local leaders and made intergenerational connections -- all while learning how to advocate for their community.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Chickasha, OK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: As part of wider efforts to revitalize Chickasha's downtown, the Chickasha Economic Development Council made several streetscape improvements. To increase foot traffic to local businesses, volunteers decorated crosswalks with pavement art and created a mural. They also installed benches and bike tracks. The branding effort is meant to redefine the town's commercial district and connect it with the surrounding neighborhoods. Project organizers hope to build on the improvements in the future, adding additional public art and pedestrian infrastructure.
Oklahoma City, OK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public place improvements to withstand extreme weather events
Description: An Oklahoma County study showed many residents rely on public water systems that have been cited for health violations. Oklahoma City officials hoped green infrastructure could help resolve water quality issues for downstream communities. So the City converted two flowerbeds in a local park in to rain gardens -- also known as bioswales. During heavy rains, the swales collect stormwater runoff from a nearby parking lot and divert it back into the ground, rather than into the municipal sewer system. This helps remove pollutants before they reach the local watershed. Project organizers say they hope the pilot allows Oklahoma City to become a leader in green infrastructure. They have planned to add more bioswales throughout the community in the future.
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