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Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership (2023) Print
2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
For decades, a 135-acre abandoned hospital was neglected in a Warren neighborhood, leaving older residents without nearby green space. The organization engaged the community through meetings and canvassing. This led to the project that transformed the site into Riverside Park with a walking path, benches, picnic tables and a pollinator garden. Volunteers, nearly half age 50 or over, planted 100 trees, creating a space for exercise and social connection. Residents say the area feels "alive" again, and a neighborhood association now meets weekly to maintain the park, ensuring it remains a vibrant community asset.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Ashton, MD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Older adults in Montgomery County faced health disparities and food insecurity, with few accessible spaces for gardening and exercise. The organization added 12 raised garden beds and seating areas to its community garden, creating a space where participants grow fresh produce and connect. The garden promotes healthy eating and social ties, reducing isolation. One 97-year-old participant, unable to garden for two years due to back and knee problems, said she is "so happy and anxiously awaiting for the season to start."
San Juan, PR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: In Santurce's Machuchal sector, a vacant lot once central to cultural celebrations fell into disrepair after Hurricane Maria, leaving older adults without a place to gather. Through participatory design workshops, residents and architecture students envisioned a space that reflects community traditions. The project delivered a round bench with a tree planter, a mural wall with integrated instruments and a circular platform for music and festivals, along with improved gardens and paths. The revitalized site now hosts cultural events and fosters intergenerational ties. "I played...here as a child," one resident shared as she happily reminisced, underscoring the joy of reclaiming a space that preserves heritage amid gentrification pressures.
Cuba City, WI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: For more than ten years, Cuba City's planning documents promised an intergenerational gathering space downtown. This project made good on that promise, converting a gravel parking lot into a gathering space. Organizers hoped the Presidential Plaza Project would increase walkability and draw traffic to Cuba City's Main Street business district. To activate the space, volunteers installed a bike rack, outdoor games and picnic tables with umbrellas for shade. A Wi-Fi hotspot provides free internet access for visitors. To beautify the area, residents painted a large mural on the pavement, which pays tribute to frontline workers' contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic. A later addition to the mural depicts the Mississippi river and includes an area for visitors to play hopscotch.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Youngstown, OH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Boulevard Park Block Watch Residents lacked a nearby public space to rest and connect, leaving older adults isolated in a dense neighborhood. The group transformed two vacant lots into a pocket park with benches, porch swings, picnic tables and plantings, plus a solar-lit flagpole and ADA-compliant features. The park now offers a secure, walkable space for socializing and exercise. "Neighbors with mobility issues were seen daily walking the 260-foot cement pathway," organizers noted, highlighting its role in fostering connection close to home.
Alliance, OH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Addressing community health
Description: Alliance's food desert left older adults without nearby access to fresh groceries. StarkFresh opened a nonprofit store in an opportunity zone, creating local food access and jobs while offering SNAP produce discounts. The store's grand opening marked a permanent solution for residents who previously faced long walks to limited options. One customer shared, "This is perfect for my mother... she just has to walk across the street-it is very convenient for her."
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