Between January and August of 2024, Neighborhood Allies collaborated with the Kincaid Street Community Garden to design a new community space that could bring life to the garden’s vacant southern lot. The goals of the project included designing a space that would complement the garden’s already thriving northern lot; increasing engagement of Garfield residents; and ensuring the space would aid in food accessibility, gathering, play, and learning.
History
The garden was initially made possible by an investment into several vacant lots by the recently sunset organization, Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience (PULSE) in 2011. In 2012, the Garfield Community Action Team (GCAT) joined the effort to make the garden a community space. Over the years, PULSE fellows living in Garfield helped to maintain the space alongside dedicated residents, primarily using the flattened northern lot as a space to plant in raised beds. While many have had a hand in caring for the garden over the years, it has always remained a beloved community space for gathering and growing.
In 2021, the garden’s southern lot received a designation through the Three Rivers Agricultural Land Initiative (TRALI), a collaboration between Grow Pittsburgh and Allegheny Land Trust, that would permanently protect it for urban gardening (Pittsburgh Post Gazette). With this promise that a portion of the garden would always remain a part of Garfield, community members began to dream about its future.
Designing the southern lot
With the southern lot officially protected, leaders of the garden set out to configure an innovative space that would build upon the garden’s history and amenities. In 2023, they met up with Neighborhood Allies to see how they could make it happen.
Over the 8-months long process, our Social Impact Design Team worked closely with Vania Evangelique and Kuwame Kinsel, the garden’s long-time co-leads, as well as nearby residents and other local stakeholders. Our team advances placemaking, place-keeping, and community-driven real estate projects through an Equity-Centered Community Development lens—a process that is people centered and encourages designers to co-create with the community by empowering those who have historically been left behind.
Tamara and Jordan designed a series of working group sessions in order to gain sustained, invested community feedback as they researched and drafted versions of a site plan. Additionally, they plugged into Kincaid’s already planned events, such as their Spring Fling volunteer kick-off and garden prep event, a bi-monthly volunteer working group, and their summer Garden Bash event where the final designs were revealed.
Check out a timeline of our community engagement efforts:
The final designs include an outdoor classroom, sensory play elements and garden with specific plants to optimize the space, several flexible gathering zones, and a community free store and food pantry. Check out the specifics in the images below.
What’s Next
This growing season was the first that Vania and Kuwame were able to harvest produce and give free food to neighbors and friends of the garden! Throughout this past season, they held many volunteer workdays, workshops, and other events that engaged neighboring residents. With this new enthusiasm in the garden, and equipped with sophisticated designs for their southern lot, they now set out to bring the community’s vision to life. If you’d like to support the garden in this endeavor, consider donating and following them on Facebook and Instagram to learn about upcoming volunteer days to build the food pantry.
