Jasper Street

Transitioning a vacant lot to a community space for soccer

Hinge worked with the community of Kensington to develop a new community space and soccer pitch that is being partially funded by the ESPN and Under Armor RePlay grant to “revitalize vacant spaces into places for sports”. The soccer pitch will be programmed by the non-profit Kensington Soccer Club (KSC) that offers low- to no-cost soccer programming to local youth. Hinge facilitated a series of intimate meetings that included immediate neighbors, stakeholders, youth coaches at KSC, and community leaders.

Following these focused meetings, Hinge was able to develop a series of events that featured games and activities that elders remembered from block parties and community gatherings in the past along with pop-up soccer programming to test sizes of spaces on site. At these events, Hinge also gathered input and shared design ideas, ultimately leading to a single concept design that has full community support. This project is currently fundraising for the next phases of design and implementation.

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Timeframe: 2018 - present

Client: New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) + Kensington Soccer Club (KSC)

Engagement Techniques Used:

• Small Group Meetings

• Asset Mapping

• Block Parties

• Site Visioning Exercise

• Surveys

• Design Charrette and Goal Setting Activities