WACA Bell Park

 WACA Bell Park

Located on the West Side of Chicago, North Lawndale has experienced decades of disinvestment, but a powerful coalition of community organizations and residents is driving transformative change through youth-centered design and creative placemaking. The neighborhood's revitalization is being shaped through innovative social design practices and collaborative initiatives that bridge art, community development, and public space activation.

Organizations like the Westside Association for Community Action (WACA) work alongside residents to strengthen the neighborhood through essential community spaces and services, including workforce programs, food bank resources, and emergency services. At WACA Bell Park, which historically served as a vital hub for youth activities and community gatherings, a collaborative vision is taking shape through partnerships with The Under the Grid Collective comprised of Open Architecture Collaborative Chicago, Freedom House, The Available City, Firehouse Community Arts Center, and The Trust For Public Land.

Through Open Architecture Collaborative Chicago's youth-driven community co-design process and summer workshops, local young people are emerging as leaders in reimagining their neighborhood spaces. These workshops engage youth in hands-on design activities, teaching them architectural thinking while incorporating their voices into the planning process. The park's transformation is part of the broader Under the Grid initiative, which aims to revitalize 15 blocks between the Pulaski and Kedzie neighborhoods through public art and community-centered design.

The collaborative design process convened with the help of Trust for Public Land with support from community partners, has resulted in a vibrant vision for WACA Bell Park that reflects local residents' desires for a playful, active, colorful, open, and green space. The renovation includes innovative features like solar art installations that merge sustainability with creative expression, new trees for increased shade, a vibrant basketball court, and contemporary seating areas. These elements combine to create an inclusive outdoor space that honors the park's heritage while serving current community needs.

Continuous organizing allowed the design collaborative to receive the City of Chicago’s POP! Grant and Together We Heal Grants totaling $500,000. This allowed the group to collaborate with site design group, ltd. is an award-winning landscape architecture, urban design, and architecture firm based in Chicago, Illinois to complete tranfrom the grounds.

This multi-stakeholder approach, bringing together social design expertise, youth leadership, artistic vision, and community wisdom, demonstrates how collaborative planning can address both immediate needs and long-term community aspirations. The project stands as a model for how participatory design processes can drive equitable neighborhood transformation while building local capacity and celebrating community culture.