In Pursuit of Equitable Development: Virtual Poster Session

Composite of various student project slides

Students from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Harvard Kennedy School, the University of Michigan's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and Howard University's Architecture Department who have done recent work on affordable housing, community development, or other topics related to equitable development will share their work in two virtual poster sessions during the symposium. Each student presenter will be assigned a table in Remo, and attendees are encouraged to circulate to the various tables and chat with students about their work at 2:30pm ET and 4:30pm ET. You must be registered in order to attend the Remo session. Find out more about how to use Remo.

 

Cambridge, Maryland Multi-Family Housing

Isabella Adekoya, Master of Architecture '22, Howard University [contact]

The aim of the Cambridge housing project is to provide strategies to the people of Cambridge, Maryland to recognize and respond to climate change displacement. The strength and resilience of the black community in Cambridge is something that inspired the parti of this project. The core objectives of the Cambridge Housing Project are to; build connections, find purpose, foster wellness, and embrace change. 

This work was done for a core studio course in architecture at Howard University. 

 

Too Hot to Stay at Home: Residential Heat Vulnerability in Urban India

Aditi Agarwal, Master in Design Studies '20, Harvard Graduate School of Design [contact]

Rising temperatures in India, combined with a growing urban population and mass production of affordable housing, are likely to sharply accelerate the demand for space cooling. This research considers and critiques the recent energy code for residential buildings and its simplified approach. By focusing on indoor comfort and the severity of overheating during the summer months, this analysis illustrates the vulnerability of current construction techniques to extreme heat. It is aimed at avoiding long-term lock-in of inefficient, high energy-consuming residential buildings.

This was a thesis project that also received support from the Center’s Student Research Program.

 

Affordable Housing in Cambodia: the Role of NGOs Post-1980

Natalie Boverman, Master of Architecture '24, Harvard Graduate School of Design [contact]
Anna Lazenby, Bachelor of Architecture '19, University of Texas at Austin

This research aimed to analyze the unique challenges of affordable housing in Cambodia, and to understand the role and contributions of non-governmental organizations in providing housing and services in Cambodia. The research fills a gap in existing literature— personal accounts of Khmer people critically analyzing their own situations and work in policy and housing stock. While the report focuses on housing in Cambodia, its discussion regarding how NGOs interact with government parties, the importance of tenure, and the necessity of the human perspective in this line of work is relevant across the globe.

This work was done as an independent research project funded by the School of Architecture at the University of Texas, Austin, where both authors received their bachelor’s degrees.

 

Keystone at the Crossroads: Housing and Urban Development Proposal in Sante Fe, NM

Joshua Childs, Master of Urban Planning and Master of Public Policy '20, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan [contact]
Bryan Hicks, Master of Architecture '20, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan
Sam Kollar, Master of Urban and Regional Planning '20, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan
Amelia Linde, Master of Architecture and Master of Urban Design '21, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan
Jessica Yelk, Master of Architecture and Master of Urban and Regional Planning '21, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan

Keystone at the Crossroads is an ambitious, precedent-setting vision of what sustainable, affordable housing can achieve in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Informed by the traditional Pueblo hearth space, a physical area for community gathering, the project incorporates abundant social infrastructure, diverse programming, and human-scale design to create a community focal point. Our team set out to not only address current needs in the Santa Fe housing market but to imagine an innovative future of affordable housing that will anchor the rapidly growing community at the crossroads of Cerillos and Airport for decades to come.

This work was submitted to the 2020 HUD Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design and Planning Competition and was selected as a national finalist.

 

Cambridge Apartments, Cambridge, Maryland

 Christine Griffith, Bachelor of Architecture '22, Howard University [contact]

The overall concept for this apartment complex in Cambridge, Maryland was to create a beacon or landmark for the community as you enter the county. Comparable to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao Spain, the design seeks to encourage and welcome an increased number of visitors to the community to experience the regional culture while simultaneously creating an economic stimulus for locals through the creation of new jobs. The design aims to establish a multi-family housing system that is unorthodox in plan, but able to respond to the needs of both the displaced (due to sea level rise) and those in the existing Cambridge community.

This work was done for a core studio course in architecture at Howard University. 

 

Creating a Greenzone/Ecodistrict in Boston's Neighborhoods of Colour

Nupur Gurjar, Master in Design Engineering '21, Harvard Graduate School of Design and Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences [contact]

This project focuses on organizational structures and finance strategies for a proposed Roxbury/Dorchester Highlands Green Innovation District, with an integrated systems thinking approach for climate-friendly green infrastructure, green jobs, quality health, housing etc., fueled by green energy. The underlying effort aims to realize “how best to make self-actualized choices articulate what real value means, in order to build more equitable, self-sustaining systems.”

This project was done in the summer, when Gurjar was a Center-funded Community Service Fellow working for Grove Hall Main Streets and the Earthos Institute.

 

The Role of Architecture in Fighting COVID-19: Healthy Housing for Native Communities

Elsa Hoover, Master in Architecture '23, Harvard Graduate School of Design [contact]
Zoe Toledo, Master in Architecture '23, Harvard Graduate School of Design [contact]

This project is directed toward Tribally Designated Housing Authorities (TDHEs) and tribal leaders whose work is situated between families enduring the pandemic, and federal funding for the building and maintenance of homes. The pandemic has revealed weaknesses in the American systems that finance, design, build, and maintain housing, particularly for tribal communities and communities of color. These guidelines aim to sequence the intervention of emergency funding into tribal communities so that this investment can produce lasting positive impact. 

This work was done this summer, when Hoover and Toledo were GSD’s Community Service Fellows working in MASS Design Group’s Sustainable Native Communities Design Lab.

 

Wilson Gardens: Veterans Housing in MetroWest

Iris Kim, Master of Architecture in Urban Design '21, Harvard Graduate School of Design [contact]
Clay Lin, Master of Architecture in Urban Design '22, Harvard Graduate School of Design [contact]

Wilson Gardens will be the future home for a multi-generational veterans’ communitythe first of its kind in Boston’s MetroWest region. Carved out from an underused, town-owned open space, it forges a model for affordable housing that integrates historic preservation, open space transformation, and the understanding that housing is a social determinant of health.

This project was 1st Place Submission for the 20th Annual Affordable Housing Development Competition hosted by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston.

 

Cambridge (Maryland) Community Townhouse Project

Kyle Martin, Master of Architecture '22, Howard University [contact]

The townhouses developed in this multi-family housing project in Cambridge, Maryland, create street-level social spaces defined by a ‘super stoop’, a sequence of generous entry platforms navigating grade changes, entry stairs, basement windows, and featuring a sidewalk landscape that provides greenery as well as outdoor seating.The design seeks to appreciate the existing community as well as considering access, parking, the current ecological connections as well as providing visitors and residents with a sense of place.

This work was done for a core studio course in architecture at Howard University.

 

Neighborhood Level Distribution Centre

Harshwardhan Saini, Master of Architecture '20, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan [contact]
Samuel Kollar, Master of Urban and Regional Planning '20, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan [contact]
Emmanuel Cofie, Master of Architecture '20, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan [contact]

Our project is a take on how communities can take charge of their package delivery logistics while mitigating traffic congestion on neighborhood streets. The proposed last-mile neighborhood level distribution centre located in Detroit’s East Village neighborhood, would process all packages coming and going from the neighborhood and operate as a cooperatively owned facility. It demonstrates how a community may take charge of their localized logistics and enhance neighborhood quality. 

The work was done for a course on Financing Real Estate Development at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

 

Formal Typologies of Low-Income Rental Housing in Indian Cities

Naksha Satish, Master of Architecture in Urban Design '22, Harvard Graduate School of Design [contact]

This project maps the terrain rental housing in India from a supply perspective, and the market dynamics that contest the idea of equitable development and access to housing in cities. It is part of a larger project on “landlordism in emergent and mature low-income rental housing markets.” This project maps form, not just as a reflection of the social relationships of the residents, but also as an asset that attributes economic potential to participate in the market.

This work was done when Satish was an intern with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements in Bangalore.

 

Housing Issues in New England

Mary Taylor, Master of Urban Planning '21, Harvard Graduate School of Design [contact]

This work examines housing issues in the six New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.  The findings will inform the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s 2021 Targeted Community Lending Plan, which will guide the bank’s housing and community development investments for the coming year.

This work was done this summer when Taylor was a Summer Research Assistant at the Joint Center for Housing Studies.

 

"Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast": Promising Practices in Race, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in the Governance of NeighborWorks Organizations

Kyle Yoder, Master in Public Policy '21, Harvard Kennedy School [contact]

This project examined work being done by several organizations in the NeighborWorks America network that were engaged in critical examination of their race, equity, diversity, and inclusion (REDI) practices, particularly as they relate to the work of their boards and leadership. This presentation will outline preliminary findings with the hope of providing compass bearings and food-for-thought for housing organizations examining their governance structures through a REDI lens.

This work was done when Yoder was an Edward Gramlich Fellow in Community and Economic Development at the Joint Center for Housing Studies and NeighborWorks America.