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Parks provide a ton of physical, mental, and environmental health benefits. They create opportunities for physical activity, bring communities together, help combat stress, improve air and

water quality, cool developedreas, and even reduce the risk of flooding.  It can be easy to access the range of health benefits provided by parks, and make a plan for healthier parks in your

own community: Download the presentation WALKABLE COMMUNITIES * Mitali Ganguly, Associate, Opticos Design Recent years have seen a growing demand for walkable communities that support an

active lifestyle, where owning a car is a choice, not a necessity. Such communities are designed to be safe and accessible for people of all ages and abilities. The design of the buildings,

streets and public spaces influences walkability and helps to create vibrant, healthy and inclusive communities: Download the presentation INCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT IN PUBLIC SPACES * Amanda

O’Rourke, Executive Director, 8 80 Cities Placemaking is about employing a community’s strengths to create a presence in public spaces that reflects that community’s identity, health, and

well-being. Creating inclusive places means being intentional about engaging diverse audiences and reaching voices that are often underrepresented. Through the stories of some 8 80 Cities

public space projects, these underrepresented voices are reached and elevated: Download the presentation 11. PUBLIC ART: CULTIVATING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FAILING UP: BRINGING A MURAL TO LIFE

THROUGH COLLABORATION * Christina Smith, Executive Director, Groundwork Bridgeport * Tanner Burgdorf, Program Lead, Groundwork Bridgeport The positive end results of a project often hide

the challenges that were encountered in bringing a project to life. Groundwork Bridgeport will talk about what inspired the project, initial challenges faced, and how collaboration with

other organizations helped make a mural project in Bridgeport Connecticut succeed: Download the presentation USING ART TO CONNECT AND ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY WITH OUTCOMES * Eva Bonilla, Lead

Volunteer, AARP Texas * Shondra Wygal, Associate State Director for Outreach and Advocacy, AARP Texas Public art leaves an indelible artistic mark on neighborhoods, cultivates culture and

creativity throughout the community, enhances neighborhood vibrancy, and brings diverse croups together to share a common experience. AARP Texas shared examples of public art and placemaking

installations in Fort Worth that honored the cultural traditions of the neighborhoods where they were installed. The goal of the projects was to connect and engage the community with

outcomes that have transformational power: Download the presentation CREATIVE DISTRICT WILMINGTON * Carlos de los Ramos, Associate State Director for Community Outreach, AARP Delaware *

Renata Kowalczyk, CEO, Wilmington Alliance Wilmington's Creative District is part of a national wave of creative placemaking initiatives that seek to transform urban areas. The Creative

District is focused on creative production and consumption. It's a place where creative entrepreneurs — artists, musicians, designers, tech innovators, makers and manufacturers — and

neighborhood residents thrive, and where locally-designed goods and original works are made and consumed: Download the presentation 12. SMALL TOWNS, BIG DREAMS, HUGE IMPACT _Learn how

Colorado communities put AARP Community Challenge grant funds to work._ AGE-FRIENDLY HISTORIC POLOUS PARK * Elaine Brett, Project Coordinator, Town of Paonia, Colorado Paonia’s efforts to

engage town elders and better serve residents of all ages include improvements to historic Polous Park, an underutilized pocket park near the center of town. Additional lighting and a

conversation circle will provide a new social space for residents, including those with mobility differences: Download the presentation RKY MTN WALLS MURAL FESTIVAL * Ali Williams, Executive

Director, Granby, Colorado, Chamber of Commerce Drawing from the beauty of the Colorado mountains,  unique wildlife and the state’s colorful art scene, RKY MTN WALLS was the first ever

street art festival in Grand County, with the goal of bringing the thriving local and national art scene to the mountains. Through the creation of permanent large-scale public murals, the

orojct provided a platform for Colorado's diverse art scene to contribute to the county’s cultural legacy for years to come: Download the presentation MESA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY:

DISCOVERY GARDENS * Nicole Fitzgerald, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator, Mesa County Public Library The Discovery Garden at Mesa County Libraries was created to provide food and

opportunities for the community to discover, learn, create and connect. The permaculture-inspired garden is surrounded by a senior center, a church, the central library, Meals on Wheels,

individual homes and an apartment complex, and it serves many needs in the center of town. Garden volunteers of all ages work with the local schools and the community to create educational

programming and opportunities to plant and harvest foods and flowers: Download the presentation 13. WALKABILITY: FIRST STEPS TO PERMANENT CHANGE A WALKING SUMMIT CAN OPEN THE EYES OF CITY

LEADERS * Anne Hails, Associate State Director for Community Outreach, AARP Alabama A well-planned walking summit has the ability to open the eyes of city officials to the benefits of a

walkable city with vibrant spaces. Walkability can transform a city, but the benefits aren’t always apparent or a priority. AARP Alabama brought home that message by inviting mayors,

developers, planners, community partners and advocates to a walking summit that included demonstration walk audits and a sample street improvement project: Download the presentation

AGE-FRIENDLY METRO ATLANTA: WALK UP TO A POP-UP * Sonya Isaac, Special Projects Manager, City of Norcross, Georgia * Ian Sansom, Senior Planner, Alta Planning + Design * Kay Sibetta,

Associate State Director for Community Outreach, AARP Georgia GA Walks Summit is an annual statewide gathering of transit and public health professionals, elected officials and community

advocates committed to making our streets and communities great places to walk. WalkUP to a Pop-up, a mobile demonstration, showed that a temporary project activated in an alley in downtown

historic Norcross could become a permanent asset. Learn about other examples of successful pop-ups around Metro Atlanta that are multigenerational, collaborative and making an impact: 

Download the presentation MULTICULTURAL PLACEMAKING: WALKDENVER’S LITTLE SAIGON INITIATIVE * Jill Locantore, Executive Director, WalkDenver The Little Saigon District on South Federal

Boulevard is not only one of the most culturally diverse parts of Denver, it is also located along one of the most deadly streets in Denver, which has a traffic fatality rate twenty times

the average for urban streets in Colorado.  Through the Friends of Little Saigon Initiative, WalkDenver is working with Asian and Latinx residents, businesses, and property owners along the

corridor to not only increase safety, but also celebrate the local culture and support a thriving international main street through creative placemaking: Download the presentation 14. WE

WANT MORE OPTIONS! CREATING HOUSING FOR EVERYONE HOUSING THROUGH AN EQUITY LENS * Sue Ballou, Housing Priority Group Co-chair, Partnership for Age-Friendly Communities Larimer County’s

housing stock doesn’t reflect the changing demographics of the region. To create more housing choices for people of all ages, the Partnership for Age-Friendly Communities is working with

local governments and residents to create more "missing middle housing" and a broader range of affordability and accessibility options: Download the presentation HELPING FLORIDA’S

LOW-INCOME POPULATIONS FIND THE RIGHT HOUSING * Laura Cantwell, Associate State Director for Advocacy and Outreach, AARP Florida The aging population in the United States, and Florida

specifically, has called for an increased focus on accessibility and livability. Many older adults struggle to find affordable housing options, with over 1.1 million low-income households in

Florida spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing. AARP Florida is working with communities across the state as an advocate on the importance of appropriate housing options

for people of all ages: Download the presentation CREATING SPACE FOR EVERYONE * LaKeeshia Fox, Legislative Representative, AARP Government Affairs AARP is working in towns, cities, and

states nationwide to help make communities livable for people of all ages, including advocating for better housing options and a more diverse housing stock: Download the presentation _Page

published November 2019_