# Equitable Community Designs The Hester Street Collaborative Fosters Local Resiliency By Tiana Reid | Published 2013-02-04 | Social Good Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/hester-street-collaborative References: [fastcoexist](http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681286/creating-resilient-community-through-design-and-advocacy) & [hesterstreet.org](http://hesterstreet.org/) Based (well, obviously) on Hester Street in New York City, the Hester Street Collaborative (HSC) is an organization that works to get both young people and community dwellers to make an impact in how their local environments are designed as well as to advocate for the strengthening of those communities. "Whether it is the creation of a new public park, playground, installation, or school garden, our work always begins when a community identifies the need for a project," the head of HSC, Anne Fredericks -- who studied architecture at [Parsons](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/spring-office-loft) -- told [Fast Co Exist's](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-humane-league) Rachael Chong. "We work together to shape a bottom-up, participatory process where local knowledge is met with design expertise to transform underutilized or neglected public spaces." **Contact Information** Hester Street Collaborative [website](http://hesterstreet.org/) HSC on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/hesterstreet) HSC on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Hester_Street) HSC on [Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/hesterstreet/) ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.5/10 - Popularity: 8% | Activity: 29% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Gen Alpha, Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Social Good](https://www.trendhunter.com/socialgood) > [Social Business](https://www.trendhunter.com/socialbusiness) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Community-led Urban Design:** The trend of involving local communities in the design of public spaces through a participatory process could disrupt traditional urban planning and architecture. - **Bottom-up Approach to Public Space Design:** Encouraging the local community to identify the need for a project and collaborating with design experts could disrupt top-down approaches to public space design. - **Resilient Community Development:** Prioritizing the community's involvement in the design of public spaces can lead to the development of more resilient and socially cohesive communities. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Architecture:** Architects can adapt their practices to involve the local community in the design of public spaces and foster more resilient and socially cohesive urban environments. - **Urban Planning:** Urban planners can incorporate community-led design approaches, prioritizing the local community's input in the design of public spaces. - **Community Development:** Community development organizations can adopt a bottom-up approach to public space design, empowering local communities to shape their neighborhoods. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Adaptive Community Hubs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/spaced-agency.md) - [Adaptive Community Spaces](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/spark-of-hudson.md) - [Housing Collective Projects](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/la-comunidad-habitacional.md) - [Creative Networking Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/designer-hikes.md) - [Architectural Community Spaces](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/street-clubhouse.md) - [Renewed Urban Rooftops](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/heineken-seoul-rooftops.md) - [3D-Printed Community Centers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/hope-village.md) - [Designer Residency Art Studios](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/colony.md) - [Community-Centric Headquarters](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/communitycentric-design.md)