An interdisciplary project lead by Elton Abbot and Susan Rodiek earned first place honors in the product design category of the Active Place Design Competition sponsored by the Environmental Design Research Association. The award was presented at the EDRA’s April 29, 2005 annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Theirs was one of 43 entries received from several different countries, on the topic of how the physical environment can promote health by supporting physical activity.

The NIA-funded SBIR project is a multimedia educational CD, "Interdisciplinary Educational Tool to Improve Active Outdoor Places for Long Term Care Residents." The purpose is to improve the health of older adults, by providing research-based information in an easily-accessible format, explaining how to design better outdoor space at residential care facilities. The project team includes prominent gerontologists, educational psychologists, and landscape architects, and is led by two architects who are also design professors.

In May 2005, the posters from this competition were re-mounted at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, where this project again received First Place in the Product Design category, from faculty and students visiting the exhibition.