AARP Hearing Center
Public places to sit for a bit make communities, spaces and places more livable for people of all ages. The AARP Community Challenge has funded lots of needed places to sit — in parks and on plazas, along hiking trails and at transit stops. The variety and creativity displayed through public seating projects is inspiring. Learn more below.
Berlin, Wisconsin
![Six artistically-painted benches in Berlin, Wyoming, created with funds from the AARP Community Challenge Six artistically-painted benches in Berlin, Wyoming, created with funds from the AARP Community Challenge](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/livable-communities/community-challenge/photo-album-public-seating/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/list_container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_listicle_one/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/livable-communities/community-challenge/slideshow/album-seating/1140x665-WI-public-seating.jpg)
To bring attention to its lesser-known parks, the city hosted a bench decorating contest followed by a scavenger hunt to find the benches. Boy Scouts and high school students in wood-working classes built the six benches, local artists and community groups decorated them.
Sandpoint, Idaho
![Three older adults pose with a new wooden bench installed in an Idaho forest Three older adults pose with a new wooden bench installed in an Idaho forest](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/livable-communities/community-challenge/photo-album-public-seating/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/list_container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_listicle_two/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/livable-communities/community-challenge/slideshow/album-seating/1140x-665-ID-forest-bench.jpg)
Four benches were placed along the "universal access" trail in the Pine Street Woods, a destination that is regularly visited by people of all ages and mobility abilities. To bring attention to the trail's debut, volunteers with the Kaniksu Land Trust led walks and snowshoe tours.
Greenfield, Massachusetts
![Two metal benches installed near a colorful sculpture in a spot called Fiske Park Two metal benches installed near a colorful sculpture in a spot called Fiske Park](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/livable-communities/community-challenge/photo-album-public-seating/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/list_container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_listicle_three/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/livable-communities/community-challenge/slideshow/album-seating/1140x665-fiske-park.jpg)
The city removed 250-square-feet of asphalt from a parking lot in its downtown and turned it into parking for people by creating the Fiske Avenue Pocket Park. The space has benches, a chess table (the game store across the street is the keeper of the playing pieces), a bike repair station, a pollinator garden and a quirky bee sculpture (pictured). The small-scale success helped in securing a $200,000 grant from the state's Department of Transportation to relocate the parking lot and expand the park. The centrally located green space has enabled Greenfield to both live up to its name and declare about itself: "There are many reasons to PARK yourself in Greenfield for the day!"
Hot Springs, Arkansas
![A musically-themed bench, acquired with funds from the AARP Community Challenge, was installed in front of a colorful mural in Hot Springs, Arkansas A musically-themed bench, acquired with funds from the AARP Community Challenge, was installed in front of a colorful mural in Hot Springs, Arkansas](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/livable-communities/community-challenge/photo-album-public-seating/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/list_container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_listicle_four/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/livable-communities/community-challenge/slideshow/album-seating/1140x665-music-bench.jpg)
To bring more attention to the musical history mural along Malvern Avenue, the city installed a new sidewalk, plaque, art, greenery and musically-inspired bench. The work was among the first reinvestments in an area that was known from the 1930s to 1960s as “Black Broadway” due to its many entertainment venues and frequent performances by legendary entertainers including Count Baise, Duke Ellington, B.B. King and others.
Roswell, New Mexico
![Two views of a flatbed truck delivering benches created from plastic bottlecaps (as described in the also pictured flyer) Two views of a flatbed truck delivering benches created from plastic bottlecaps (as described in the also pictured flyer)](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/livable-communities/community-challenge/photo-album-public-seating/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/list_container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_listicle_five/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/livable-communities/community-challenge/slideshow/album-seating/1140x665-roswell-nm.jpg)
For several years, MainStreet Roswell collected, sorted and stored plastic bottle caps and container lids (see inset photo) for an effort it called "Bottlecaps to Benches." Once a significant number were collected, bags full of caps and lids were loaded onto a tractor trailer (top image) and driven to a Green Tree Plastics in Indiana, where they were exchanged for 30 benches (bottom image) made from recycled plastic. The benches were placed throughout the city's downtown, which is visited by well over 200,000 tourists a year. "Our summer in the Southwestern desert can be brutal with daytime temperatures reaching up to 112F," notes Molly Boyles, a MainStreet Roswell board member. "Seating has always been lacking for those needing to take a break."
Whitesburg, Kentucky
![A blue, AARP-branded bench was installed in Whitesburg, Kentucky, with funding from the AARP Community Challenge A blue, AARP-branded bench was installed in Whitesburg, Kentucky, with funding from the AARP Community Challenge](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/livable-communities/community-challenge/photo-album-public-seating/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/list_container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_listicle_six/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/livable-communities/community-challenge/slideshow/album-seating/1140x665-blue-bench.jpg)
The AARP Community Challenge grant funded four benches (manufactured by a local metalworks shop) and a stretch of blacktopping along the newly improved Tanglewood Trail, a three mile path that goes through the city's downtown. The trail provides residents with a lighted walkway that has even, at-grade pavement. “By connecting all of our different businesses together, it connects one end of town to the other,” explains Mayor Tiffany Craft. “A lot of people who do not drive have access now.” Notes Valerie Ison Horn, director of the Cowan Community Action Group: “It’s another way of tying a healthy community together with fresh foods and physical activity.” Matching funds raised by local businesses and individual donors surpassed the funds given by the AARP Community Challenge grant and will be put toward expanding the trail to the top of Pine Mountain, where it will join the 1,800 mile Great Eastern Trail.
- Watch a video about this project