The Role of Architects in Housing Equity: A Multi-sector Perspective
(60 minutes, 1 LU l HSW)
Course Description:
The Opportunity Starts at Home campaign is a long-term, multi-sector initiative dedicated to bringing diverse advocates—such as educators, healthcare professionals, and social workers—into the housing space. Housing is fundamental to the well-being of individuals and communities, influencing nearly every aspect of our lives.
With support from AIA, the campaign has successfully engaged architects in building a multi-sector movement to advance housing solutions at both national and state levels. By shifting the narrative around affordable housing, this initiative empowers architects to collaborate across industries, drive policy change, and design equitable, human-centered communities.
The webinar is part of a series produced by the AIA Right-to-Housing Working Group. In each episode, we ask: “What does the right to housing mean in practice?” and “How can architects contribute?”
Learning Objectives:
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Showcase the importance to build multi-sector partnerships and foster cross-industry collaboration to drive policy change, and design equitable, human-centered communities.
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Understand the critical role of the federal government in addressing housing affordability nationwide and how this can impact design.
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Explore the challenges low-income families face amidst rising housing costs and the increasing cost of living and identify tools that can influence equitable design.
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Learn how the campaign is reshaping the conversation around affordable housing—and how architects can contribute to these efforts.
Speakers:
Chantelle Wilkinson, National Campaign Director, Opportunity Starts at Home
Chantelle Wilkinson is the Director of the Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign led by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and Children's HealthWatch. OSAH a housing movement bringing multi-sector advocates together to advance federal housing solutions. She comes to the DMV area from New York where she worked as a budget analyst for the state legislature and helped enact housing, corporation, and transportation policies. While in NY, she worked on the Breathing Lights Campaign with the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society. The campaign highlighted the problem of dilapidated vacant housing in the capital region of New York State and spurred collaboration between artists, community organizations, neighborhood ambassadors, project administrators, and government officials.