Housing and Community Development

Right to Housing: August Notes + Housing Resources

Sharing a few housing topics and resources that came out of our August AIA HCD Right to Housing Working Group conversation. This is also a test of an idea we discussed: creating a regular HCD post highlighting housing issues, policy developments, and examples we are seeing in our communities.

Schools + Housing
School districts across the country are exploring how publicly owned education land can support affordable and workforce housing. This is especially relevant in communities facing declining enrollment, school closures, and increasing housing costs.

UCLA CityLAB has a useful overview of California's AB 2295 Education Workforce Housing Law, which created a pathway for housing on qualifying school district property:
https://www.citylab.ucla.edu/projects/ab2295-2022-education-workforce-housing-law-tlex8

The New York Times recently covered similar efforts by school districts to create affordable housing for teachers and other employees:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/business/affordable-housing-schools-teachers.html

Housing Policy + the Role of Architects
Our discussion also touched on zoning and land-use reform, whole-home repairs, the Road to Housing Act, and how architects can participate more effectively in housing policy-not only in designing housing once a project reaches us, but in helping shape the systems that determine what can be built.

AIA members can share emerging or persistent housing issues with AIA National through this GAPP Housing Subcommittee form:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/teu71FjKnJ

Looking Ahead
The Right to Housing Working Group is also developing 2027 conversations around small-lot housing, pre-designed housing plans, social housing, habitability, and housing policy advocacy.

One question worth continuing across HCD: What housing issues, policies, projects, or emerging models are you seeing in your own community that the rest of us should know about?

Please share them here. They could help make this a recurring HCD housing news exchange.