  The young star cluster NGC 602 and its associated HII region, N90, formed in
a relatively isolated and diffuse environment in the Wing of the Small
Magellanic Cloud. Its isolation from other regions of massive star formation
and the relatively simple surrounding HI shell structure allows us to constrain
the processes that may have led to its formation and to study conditions
leading to massive star formation. We use images from Hubble Space Telescope
and high resolution echelle spectrographic data from the Anglo-Australian
Telescope along with 21-cm neutral hydrogen (HI) spectrum survey data and the
shell catalogue derived from it to establish a likely evolutionary scenario
leading to the formation of NGC 602. We identify a distinct HI cloud component
that is likely the progenitor cloud of the cluster and HII region which
probably formed in blister fashion from the cloud's periphery. We also find
that the past interaction of HI shells can explain the current location and
radial velocity of the nebula. The surrounding Interstellar Medium is diffuse
and dust-poor as demonstrated by a low visual optical depth throughout the
nebula and an average HI density of the progenitor cloud estimated at 1 cm^-3.
These conditions suggest that the NGC 602 star formation event was produced by
compression and turbulence associated with HI shell interactions. It therefore
represents a single star forming event in a low gas density region.
