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HEAL Utah

AARP Community Challenge Grant: Building Healthy, Equitable, and Livable Streets

Learn more about AARP’s Community Challenge Grants here.

Building Equitable Communities Through Sustainable Transportation: Our Role in the AARP Community Challenge

Our ability to get from place to place is the foundation for building a thriving community. Transportation planning and policy plays an essential role in creating equity in our neighborhoods, as it shapes how a community connects to the services necessary for a healthy, prosperous, and fulfilling life. We are excited to be part of the AARP Community Challenge Grant, which supports HEAL’s goal of building healthy, equitable, and livable communities in Salt Lake City and beyond.  

Addressing the Needs of Utah’s Aging Population

As Utah’s population ages, we are presented with new opportunities and challenges to ensure equitable access to green spaces, public and active transportation, and safe, healthy, and livable communities. To do this equitably, we must address the needs of our 50+ population and make sure their voices and experiences are considered in city and transit planning. Our participation in the AARP Community Challenge project will support our goal of using capacity-building events to better advocate for policies that support people’s ability to travel safely within their communities by walking, cycling, and using public transit. 

Promote public health, clean air, and a safe environment in transit planning.
Strengthen existing 55+ communities.
Preserve and build on the features that make a community distinctive.
Facilitate meaningful community engagement that can be used in planning and land use decisions.
Provide transportation options that improve access to opportunities and daily necessities.

Upcoming Opportunities:

We’re excited to offer future events and actions where you can join us in creating positive and lasting change in our communities. Stay tuned for opportunities like our Week Without Driving or a Community Walk Audit—participate and you’ll have a chance to win gift cards and cool swag! To stay in the loop, sign up for our email list and follow us on social media. 

  • Week Without Driving is a national campaign that challenges us to leave our cars at home for a week to experience what life is like for the third of Americans who can’t or don’t drive. 
  • Week Without Driving
    • By participating in Week Without Driving, we accomplish a number of our shared goals:
      • Give elected officials and city planners a first-hand understanding of what it is like to have public transit as your only option for getting around. 
      • Move officials to support our local, state and national agenda to invest in public transit options by raising their voice (oped, blog, video social media, co-sponsor etc) in support of our agenda. 
      • Help improve the air quality, public health, and conserve energy

We need to make sure that we’re building neighborhoods that are safe and healthy for all people. One way to do this is to use the 8-80 Rule. This simple yet powerful rule asks us to consider whether or not our community spaces are accessible and enjoyable for everyone from 8 years old to 80 years old. By using these ages as an indicator, we can build roads and sidewalks that work for all people, no matter their age, gender or ability.  

Here’s how to assess whether the roads where you live or work are safe for everyone ages 8 to 80:

  1. Step 1: Think of a child you know who is around 8 years old. This could be anyone – a son or daughter, grandchild, sister, brother, cousin, neighbor, etc.
  2. Step 2: Think of an adult you know who is around 80 years old. This could be a parent, grandparent, friend, former co-worker, neighbor, etc.
  3. Step 3: Ask yourself: Would you send that 8-year-old out with the 80-year-old on a walk, or a bike ride on a nearby sidewalk or bike lane? If you would, then it passes the 8-80 test, and it’s safe enough for most people to use. If not, it fails the test, and we need to work harder to make it safe and inviting for all people.

While this may seem simple, most of the places in our communities that have been built for walking and biking are not safe enough for people ages 8 through 80.

Encourage federal representatives to vote for Congressman Johnson’s transit bill Stronger Communities Through Better Transit.

Your participation matters. That’s why we will use all the data we gather from these events to make sure that elected officials and city planners have a first-hand understanding of what it is like to have public and active transit as your only or preferred option for getting around. Your personal and collective experiences will ensure that our communities are the beneficiaries of healthy and equitable transportation policy.