CityLab Daily: Building Community Around the Soccer Field

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Have a ball: In some cities, transit stations have a lot of empty or underused space. It might be easy to ignore, but what if it could be turned into something that serves as a community hub and encourages people to ride transit? That’s what’s emerging in Atlanta’s MARTA system, where a nonprofit called Soccer in the Streets has revamped unused spaces at two stations by installing mini soccer fields for kids and adults. The vision goes much further: Over the next three years, the plan is to build a network of ten fields that host a transit-oriented soccer league, putting kids and parents just a train ride away from their next match.