Square Mile / Square Kilometer Program

Nairobi is one of the most concentrated centres of human potential on earth. We build the bridges that let it work.

Every neighborhood has the potential to thrive. We build the bridges that let it work.

We are not here to manage anyone. We are here to build Common — one connected zone at a time, funded by donors, staffed by business partners, and measured house by house.

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6
Pre-launch zones

Westlands, Kilimani, CBD, Parklands, Kileleshwa, South B/C

2,000
Churches in Kenya

A national network averaging 6–8 churches inside every zone

6–8
Churches per zone

Each church serves the households inside its own zone

60,000
Target churches worldwide

The zone model is built to scale beyond any single city

5
Blocks per zone

North, south, east, and west of the church's front door

$2,900
Monthly church stipend

Once a church is fully seated in its zone

8-8-8
Directory recruiting

8 vendors, 8 merchants, 8 CBO/NGO/PBOs per zone

60,000
Target churches worldwide

The zone model is built to scale beyond any single city

Bridgewell Urban Group — Partners invest. Residents build. Everyone wins.
How it works

A zone is built around a church, not a program office

Every partner church becomes the anchor for a Promise Zone — the blocks or kilometer radius immediately around its front door — and recruits the businesses and community organizations that serve the households inside it.

1

A church signs on

The church becomes the trusted, on-the-ground anchor for its zone and submits 4 zone reps to run the program.

2

The 8-8-8 directory builds

8 vendors/home-based businesses, 8 merchants/small-to-mid businesses, and 8 CBO/NGO/PBOs join the zone's Bridgewell directory.

3

Households get counted

Household data is reported through KoboCollect, and every household is permanently coded to its zone church.

4

The zone goes "fully seated"

Zone work becomes visible — cleanup, repair, outreach — and the church starts receiving its full monthly stipend.

Where we launch first

Six pre-launch zones across Nairobi

2,000 churches in the national network, organized 6–8 churches per zone, each anchoring a 0.5 km Square Kilometer radius around its doors.

Westlands

Commercial anchor zone

Kilimani

Residential and services zone

CBD

High-density business district zone

Parklands

Mixed-use commercial zone

Kileleshwa

Residential zone

South B/C

Residential and trade zone

Zone structure — United States

Promise Zones anchored in Memphis and Nashville

Every partner church anchors a 5-block Promise Zone in every direction from its front door, marked with a visible yard sign, and works alongside its zone reps to build out the directory and serve households.

Scale

What full participation looks like

1,000 fully seated churches — Kenya

KES 101M / month

flowing directly into local churches and their zones once fully seated (4 zone reps, 8-8-8 directory, KoboCollect reporting).

See the full breakdown

Target: 60,000 churches worldwide

The zone model is built to scale beyond any single city — every new church is a new Promise Zone, a new local directory, and a new set of households counted and served.

See the vision

Two ways in: give or partner

Donors fund the work directly. Churches and businesses build the zones on the ground.

Donate Apply as a Church Become a Business Partner