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Tri County Community Action Mission (2017) Print
2017 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
Vacant lots in Harrisburg's Allison Hill neighborhood -- which make up about a third of the neighborhood's land area -- were overgrown with weeds and debris, attracted crime and often served as illegal dumping sites. To address this, the Tri County Community Organization set out to clean up eight lots. Volunteers cleared the sites of debris, installed fencing and planted low-maintenance grass that only grows to six inches in height. This project opens up the space so that there's no place to hide for crime, so this project really helps to bring beauty to the neighborhood, Neighborhood Outreach Coordinator Donnell Brown said. Now that the lots are cleaned up, project organizers hope the spaces will help raise property values, as well as provide residents with a gathering space.
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See More Projects Like This One
New Orleans, LA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project will renovate a meeting space and intergenerational playground in an affordable housing development built for low-income musicians who were displaced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Gooding, ID
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The Gooding Public Library Foundation converted an unused area of West Park into a community commons. Located near Gooding's library, city hall and police station, the site now features accessible picnic tables, shade canopies and lidded trash cans. The library now uses the site for a variety of activities, including story time and science experiments. Library patrons, workers on lunch break and other community members also gather in the space. The library now plans to install a little free library in the park.
Morrilton, AR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project created an outdoor therapy space, designed to be accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Volunteers poured a concrete slab to serve as a play surface. They also added benches and picnic tables onsite.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Camp Hill, PA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: This project will improve access to outdoor recreation by addressing barriers for older adults and individuals with disabilities. It includes skill-building sessions, transportation, gear lending libraries, and an all-terrain wheelchair.
Millersburg, PA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: This project will provide benches and raised beds for a newly-created community garden, as well as install raised garden beds near senior apartment buildings.
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