Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): En mi pueblo hay solo una cancha, así que todos compartimos el espacio. - In my town there is only one court, so we all share the space.

el pueblo = the town / the village (a place)
el pueblo = the people (as a group, especially “the common people”)
Here, because it comes after en and is followed by hay solo una cancha (there is only one court/field), it clearly refers to a place, so it means in my town.

Why do we use hay instead of es or está?

Hay is the impersonal form meaning there is / there are.

hay = there is / there are
es = is (describes identity or characteristics of a specific thing: La cancha es grande – The court is big)
está = is (location or temporary state: La cancha está en mi pueblo – The court is in my town)

In En mi pueblo hay solo una cancha, we are talking about the existence of something in that place (there is only one court), so hay is the correct verb.

Can I also say Solo hay una cancha? Is there a difference between hay solo una cancha and solo hay una cancha?

Both are correct and common:

En mi pueblo hay solo una cancha
En mi pueblo solo hay una cancha

Meaning is essentially the same: There is only one court in my town.

Very slight nuance:

hay solo una cancha: tiny emphasis on only one court (the number)
solo hay una cancha: tiny emphasis on the fact that the only thing that exists is one court

In everyday conversation, they are interchangeable. Most natives won’t feel any real difference.

What’s the difference between solo, sólo, and solamente?

All three can function like only in English:

solo (no accent)
sólo (with accent – older usage)
solamente

Current standard (RAE):

Use solo (without accent) for only in almost all cases.
sólo with accent is now considered optional and only recommended if there is real ambiguity (which is rare).

solamente:

Means the same as solo = only / just.
Often sounds a little more formal or emphatic:
En mi pueblo hay solamente una cancha.

Here, you can say:

hay solo una cancha
hay solamente una cancha Both are fine.

What exactly does cancha mean in Latin America? Is it a "court" or a "field"?

In Latin American Spanish, cancha is a general word for a sports playing area. The exact translation depends on the sport:

soccer / fútbol: often field or pitch
basketball / básquet: court
tennis: court
sometimes any multi-use sports area in a neighborhood

So una cancha in this kind of context is best understood as a (sports) court/field, often shared by everyone for different games.

How is así que used? Is it the same as saying "so" or "therefore"?

Así que is a very common, fairly informal connector that usually means so, so then, or therefore.

Pattern:

Reason, así que Result

In the sentence:

Reason: En mi pueblo hay solo una cancha
Result: todos compartimos el espacio

So the whole thing is:
There is only one court in my town, so we all share the space.

Other similar connectors:

por eso = for that reason / that’s why
entonces = then / so (a bit more conversational, sometimes more narrative)

Así que is very natural in spoken Latin American Spanish.

Why is there no subject pronoun like nosotros before compartimos?

Spanish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

compartimos is 1st person plural (we share).
todos (“all of us / everyone”) is right before it.

So:

todos compartimos el espacio = we all share the space

You could say todos nosotros compartimos el espacio, but that’s longer and only used for extra emphasis. The natural everyday form is without nosotros.

What tense is compartimos, and how is the verb compartir conjugated?

In this sentence, compartimos is present tense, first person plural (we share).

Compartir is a regular -ir verb. Present tense:

yo comparto – I share
tú compartes – you share (informal)
él / ella / usted comparte – he/she shares, you share (formal)
nosotros / nosotras compartimos – we share
vosotros / vosotras compartís – you all share (mainly in Spain)
ellos / ellas / ustedes comparten – they share, you all share

So todos compartimos = we all share.

Why do we say el espacio with el? Could we just say compartimos espacio?

El here makes espacio specific:

el espacio = the space (a particular, limited space: the court area)

You can say compartimos espacio without el, but it slightly changes the feel:

compartimos el espacio = we share this specific space (the one we’re talking about: the court)
compartimos espacio = we share space in general, more abstractly

In context, el espacio sounds more natural because we’re talking about that one sports area everyone uses.

Why is mi in en mi pueblo written without an accent, but mí sometimes has an accent?

Spanish distinguishes:

mi (no accent) = my (possessive adjective)
- mi pueblo = my town
- mi casa = my house
mí (with accent) = me after a preposition (stressed pronoun)
- para mí = for me
- de mí = about me
- a mí = to me

In en mi pueblo, mi means my, so it has no accent.

Could I say En mi pueblo hay solo una cancha, por eso todos compartimos el espacio instead? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say that. The meaning is almost the same.

así que ≈ so / therefore
por eso ≈ for that reason / that’s why

Subtle nuance:

así que sounds very conversational and flows like spoken English so.
por eso is slightly more explicit: for that reason, but still very common in everyday speech.

Both versions are natural in Latin American Spanish.

Is the word order En mi pueblo fixed, or could I move it to another position in the sentence?

You can move it; Spanish word order is quite flexible. Some options:

En mi pueblo hay solo una cancha, así que todos compartimos el espacio.
Hay solo una cancha en mi pueblo, así que todos compartimos el espacio.
Solo hay una cancha en mi pueblo, así que todos compartimos el espacio.

All are correct and natural.

Placing En mi pueblo at the beginning slightly emphasizes the location first:
In my town, there is only one court, so we all share the space.