Flatbush, Brooklyn is a vibrant predominantly Black neighborhood with a diverse immigrant culture, many of whom are from Caribbean Islands. The marketplace serves as an important cultural symbol and gathering space. During the site visit, the design team learned gained new insights from the interviewees, including:

• Personal stories of gentrification and food instability

• The joy brought by seeing Caribbean arts and performances so far away from home

• The marketplace itself was dim; vendors wished it could be decorated with more color and liveliness

• A local bookstore just closed

• There was no public seating or gathering area for shoppers

After hearing these stories, the youth-designers decided they wanted their project to address food inequity, knowledge sharing, and a lack of community gathering space. They sketched plans, made models, and shared ideas with each other. Through this process, more design requirements took shape: It needed to be vibrant and colorful; it should be easily moved from inside to outside depending on New York weather; and if it was modular the pieces could be rearranged to address different needs as the needs of the Marketplace evolved.

Architecture + Advocacy volunteers played a key role in converting these ideas into construction documents that could be cut on the CNC machine, and designing an attachment system that would keep the pieces secure, but still easy to rearrange.

The final design features a little library, herb garden, and seating. When we installed design in the plaza of the Marketplace, we turned it into a community build-party. Passers-by were invited to paint the pieces, and the youth design-leaders enthusiastically explained the project to anyone who would listen. The Sustainable Futures project celebrates and amplifies the Caribbean community of Flatbush, while holistically engaging local youth in the design and implementation process. This project embodies the power of youth voices and their ability to shape sustainable futures.