2022
Antioch Park Mini Soccer Pitch
Following their success of inspiring a major permanent impact for Dickerson Pike pedestrian safety, the Nashville Youth Design Team chose to focus on activating a park in the South Nashville area. The Team ran a successful pop-up soccer tournament for youth in the neighborhood. Their mini soccer pitch infrastructure is still regularly used!
PROGRAM
Nashville Youth Design Team
PROJECT FOCUS AREA
Parks + Open Spaces
ACADEMIC PARTNERS
Katy Morgan, PhD + Kayla Anderson, PhD Candidate
Gaining Experience
The Nations community reached out to the Civic Design Center’s Design Studio about an issue in their neighborhood: a shrouded pedestrian path that we nicknamed the “Secret Sidewalk”.
There is a desire to connect Deleware Ave to Alabama Ave using an overgrown pathway that once connected these two streets under the interstate. This reestablished route could strengthen walkable connections between the Nations / Clifton / Sylvan Park Neighborhoods and serve as an asset to the neighbors and businesses here.
The Nashville Youth Design Team expressed interest in gaining more community engagement experience, so the Design Studio asked the Team to host a pop-up community event to get feedback about a potential tactical urbanism installation in the area. The Team set up tables and chairs, games, chalk drawing, and more to draw community members to the Secret Sidewalk.
Deepening Focus
For their Summer Intensive this year, the Nashville Youth Design Team met at Belmont University where they learned more about the built environment and how it impacts youth wellness. The Team chose to focus their attention on South Nashville because the Youth Wellness map identified this neighborhood as having opportunity areas where youth wellness could be improved.
The Team heard from adult stakeholders who live and/or work in the South Nashville area, and also hosted focus groups with middle schoolers at Coleman Park Community Center.
Finally, the Team split into groups addressing 3 main concerns: accessible transportation, youth-oriented spaces, and safety.
The groups started by developing problem statements and grounding them in the research they had conducted. Along with sketching out their designs, each group identified a potential location for installation, determined cost of materials, identified potential partnerships, brainstormed community outreach efforts, and outlined evaluation strategies.
Grace, Team Member and Rising Senior
“I thought about the difference in culture within this neighborhood, and even with language barriers sports bring people together, and promote a positive wellbeing overall.”
EXHIBITION
Each group presented their ideas to industry professionals and the adults voted on which group’s idea would receive funding to implement their solution. Watch the recording above to see their presentations.
Winning Idea
2022
After learning from the focus groups and the Youth Wellness Map that young people in South Nashville wanted more places to hang out, Arjun, Cydney, Grace, and Joseph designed a mini soccer pitch intended to be installed at Antioch Park, which is across the street from Antioch Middle School. While there is an indoor private soccer pitch in the area, the general community doesn’t have anywhere to play soccer with real goals. The whole Team came together to advertise a Single-Elimination Tournament at the mini-pitch, providing flyers to all of the middle and high schools in the South Nashville/Antioch area.
The tournament brought out families of diverse backgrounds and languages to play. Some came with teams, and others came by themselves to meet people. During the soccer tournament, the Team asked the community members to complete surveys to assess the impact of the design intervention. The Team has also continued to monitor usage of the mini-pitch and has often seen big groups of young people playing soccer!
