Kensington is often portrayed as a Philadelphia neighborhood defined by addiction, trash, and poverty. But young people are rebuilding the neighborhood and reimagining its future. Klean Kensington, a community-based organization, is one of eight community partners helping shape the city’s new “Philadelphia 2050: Planning Together” vision. The program pays local teenagers to clean vacant lots, build gardens, and maintain streets, while also providing financial literacy training, job-readiness workshops, college visits, and mentorship.

These teens are transforming both their neighborhood and their own trajectories. Their work was on full display at the recent “Dreamers’ Dinner,” the first community event in the 2050 planning process, where they hosted, served, and led discussions on Kensington’s future. Instead of waiting decades for change, Kensington’s teens are proving that a cleaner, safer, more hopeful neighborhood can begin with the people who live there.