Architecture Commons^™

From Affordable To Equitable: An Analysis Of Affordable Housing As A Solution In A National Shortage, Machelle Cooper

Honors Theses

Amid a national shortage of housing, the United States needs housing solutions that both remedy infrastructural concerns imposed by outdated standards of urban development and address a widespread lack of equity across several urban areas. Conventional approaches to public housing have proven ineffective in promoting equitable change within underdeveloped contexts. These areas desire innovative, intentional interventions that adequately address all aspects of their social, economic, and environmental needs that existing patterns of development have neglected for decades. Public and state sentiments regarding areas of concentrated poverty and segregation in urban space must change for a future of equitable housing to …

The Incremental Ecosystem: Hybridizing Self-Built + Conventional Processes As A Solution To Urban Expansion, Shayne Serrano

Masters Theses

Already dense urban areas will inevitably require further densification and sprawl. Given the United Nations projection of 68% of the World’s population living in cities by 2050, there is an urgency to resolve matters of urban expansion. At this time, it is estimated that 25% of the world’s urban population reside within the construct of a self-built settlement. Undoubtedly, these communities face a wide range of challenges including, but not limited to, a lack of urban infrastructure necessary to support their health and wellness, a lack of transportation to the inner city, a lack of access to healthcare and educational …

White Picket Possibilities: Socially, Economically And Environmentally Reshaping Suburbia, Brendan Carroll

Architecture Senior Theses

What does the future of suburbia look like? For much of its history suburbia marketed itself as a pillar of the American dream. While it could be argued that for many years owning a single-family home was an obtainable goal for most Americans, this is far from the case today. Suburbia has shifted from the housing type advertised for the masses to a housing type only obtainable by a fraction of Americans. Suburbia and the housing units within it do not match the social, economic, or environmental needs of today's society.

As the demand for suburban living remains at all-time …

Exploring The Impact Of The Habitat For Humanity Home-Building Process On Partner Families' Holistic Well-Being, Hawkley Pusey, Nikhil Mathur, Kathryn Figliomeni, Nanditha Srinivasan, Keely R. Dehn, Jason A. Ware

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how participating in the Habitat for Humanity house-building process influenced participants’ purpose well-being, social well-being, community well-being, physical and mental well-being, and financial well-being, and how effective Habitat for Humanity is in aiding neighborhood revitalization within the Greater Lafayette area. The research project resulted in a presentation of quantitative data and a testimonial video that highlighted the stories of families that had worked with Habitat for Humanity. Quantitative data was gathered through a survey that addressed respondents’ levels of satisfaction within the various categories of well-being mentioned above. Testimonial information was gathered …

The Tragedy Of The Commons: A Podcast Exploring Solutions To The Housing Crisis In California, Delaney Li-Ming Faherty

City and Regional Planning

Affordable housing has become increasingly inaccessible across the United States, particularly in California. Because of its long history and far-reaching span, California’s housing crisis is a complexity that affects individuals at most income levels. Accordingly, opinions on solving the crisis vary among each public.

A popular solution is increasing the amount and scale of housing, however, barriers, such as single-family zoning, exist at the state and local level. While statewide legislation is working to counteract municipal zoning codes, local opposition is rampant. Because of this pushback, and the slow pace at which housing reliant on individual action is built, today’s …

Market Demand-Based Planning And Permitting: Special Case Of Affordable Housing, Robert Hibberd

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

Arthur C. Nelson has advanced the concept of market demand-based planning and permitting (MDBPP) as a way in which to balance the need for development within the limits of market capacity. Lacking MDBPP discipline, real estate markets are prone to over-development that can lead to economic downturns including notably the Great Recession of 2007-2009. This article will unpack the history and challenge of MDBPP and demonstrate its efficacy. Then, it will apply these principles to the specific wicked problem of housing affordability, which is both ongoing and emerging in nature. It will tie this problem to a call for MDBPP …

Design Is A Social Process: A Survey On Inclusive Practice, Gabriel De Souza Silva

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This inquiry pivots the discussion on design practice toward process, and seeks to elucidate how inclusivity is achieved in it, and by what means it is maintained. The design process is interrogated through a series of case studies on contemporary practitioners that either describe themselves or are recognized by the wider design community as inclusive of gender, race, sexual orientation, ability level, and are sensitive to history of place. The case studies are selected to demonstrate a diversity of project types, management structures, and design tools, and they comprise the practices of LA Más, Assemble, and Bryony Roberts. The product …

Re-Imagining Design For Affordable Housing In Mexico, Kenza Fernandez Dominguez

Scripps Senior Theses

Since the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto, affordable housing developments in Mexico have been produced in a massive, unsustainable scale. The speed at which these developments are produced equates to the carelessness that goes into their planning. At large, the developments’ monotonous design is aesthetically dehumanizing and fails to promote a sense of community. These developments lack basic infrastructure, and their residents have abandoned them, which has incentivized increased criminal activity.

In this paper, I will be looking at successful models of affordable housing globally, exploring the histories of communal living, and function of architectural collages. Based on my findings …

Re-Imagining Design For Affordable Housing In Mexico, Kenza Fernandez Dominguez

Scripps Senior Theses

Since the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto, affordable housing developments in Mexico have been produced in a massive, unsustainable scale. The speed at which these developments are produced equates to the carelessness that goes into their planning. At large, the developments’ monotonous design is aesthetically dehumanizing and fails to promote a sense of community. These developments lack basic infrastructure, and their residents have abandoned them, which has incentivized increased criminal activity.

In this paper, I will be looking at successful models of affordable housing globally, exploring the histories of communal living, and function of architectural collages. Based on my findings, …

Journeyman International: Dwell Being Jonestown, Mississippi, Autumn Wagner

Architectural Engineering

Journeyman International is a non-profit organization that works with countries all over the world to support humanitarian projects by pairing clients with design professionals and volunteers to oversee the design and construction of projects. This specific project partners with Third Lens Ministries and But God Ministries, two organizations that are hoping to empower the community in Jonestown, Mississippi. Dwell Being promotes sustainability and affordable housing in a new housing community in Jonestown that is designed for healthy living and community interaction. Jonestown is a very small 0.4 square acre town that has roots in systemic racism and oppression. A once …

Timber Ridge, Portland State University. Center For Public Interest Design, Sergio Palleroni, Todd Ferry, Kaylyn Berry, Hannah Lopez, Athena Shepherd, Sean Silverstein

Center for Public Interest Design Projects

A development of Community Development Partners (CDP) and the Northeast Oregon Housing Authority (NEOHA), the Timber Ridge project will address the community’s need for high-quality, affordable housing. In partnership with EngAGE NW, a leading organization in intergenerational programming, the project also aspires to support a community for all ages and an inter-cultural community. The project aims to be a hub for residents and the wider La Grande community through the provision of classroom and meeting spaces for a wide variety of programming and developing outdoor park and recreation amenities in a region of the city remote from most community resources. …

The State Of Affordable Housing In Pierce County, Ali Modarres, Hannah Miner, Anthony Hoffmann

Professional Reports

Affordable housing is a complex issue, requiring significant regional and metropolitan level attention. There are very few cities that can claim to have succeeded in solving this problem. However, the policy toolkit to engage with this particular challenge has grown over the last few decades. Given the diminishing role of the federal government in building and financing affordable/social housing, it has fallen to tribes, states, counties, and cities to tackle this challenge on their own or through collaboration. The State of Washington and Pierce County governments are no exception. Meanwhile, as the number of cost-burdened households has increased over time, …

Innovation In A Housing Crisis: Addressing Moderate Income Housing, Paul Wladyslaw Chytla-Hinze

City and Regional Planning

Innovation in a Housing Crisis: Addressing Moderate Income Housing surveys city-level, as well as regional innovations, that aim to address the shortage of moderate income housing throughout the Bay Area region. This project will explore how these innovations can serve to address the moderate income housing shortage into the future, and will use Redwood City, and the Bay Area, as the local and regional models of the affordable housing crisis.

Re-Interpretation Of City’S Radial Expansion In The Developing Countries Through Green Affordable Housingcase Study: Greater Sour Southern Expansion Axis, Lebanon, Maged Youssef, Aya Dikmak

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

The footprint of the city is at major risk. Cities are growing out in a fast and unplanned way thus increasing ground stress, both environmentally and economically. When the population increases, the suburbs are exposed to an amorphous expansion, which leads to a modification in the form and content of the city’s periphery. Greater Sour is one of the coastal cities in Lebanon that passed through major phases of expansion over time and has the potential for major future growth. This growth is resulting in a radial-shaped structure located along the major roads linking the city to the surrounding towns. …

Living Together : Revisiting The Sro + New Forms Of Collectivity, Elizabeth Parker

Masters Theses

The current affordable housing crisis has reached a boiling point. Home prices are increasing at double the rate of wage gains, and almost half of all renters in the United States are considered costburdened (spending 30% or more of their income on rent). There simply isn’t enough affordable housing available to meet the growing demand and people are being priced out. The housing market, as it stands, is in desperate need of re-examination.

Options that better reflect the demographics of growing cities and promote inclusion are of vital importance for a sustainable future.

This directed research project responds to the …

Filling The Gaps, Robert Monahan

Architecture Theses

No abstract provided.

Housing For All In India And Its Future In Sustainable Development, Nadia Shah

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Government of India has been challenged with a growing housing demand for more than half a century, since its independence in 1947. The shift in the country’s population from rural to urban creates an emerging dynamic in the housing gap. While India continues to move forward, already the world’s fastest growing economy, in the realm of manufacturing and services, the housing demand continues to increase. This paper investigates the causes and consequences of the housing shortage in India, by examining the country’s past policies that have been public housing, sites and services, slum upgrading and self-help programs, and …

Willow Heights Livability Improvement Plan, Community Design Center

Project Reports

Willow Heights is a 43-year old public housing complex owned by the Fayetteville Housing Authority (FHA) within the federal public housing portfolio administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The school’s design center was commissioned by a local foundation to study an alternative to the FHA’s plan to sell the downtown Willow Heights complex to a developer of high-income housing, necessitating relocation of low-income residents to another complex outside of downtown. Using equity as a driver of decision making, the studio introduced scenario planning to organize reluctant stakeholders in considering transformations to the five-acre complex.

Pro Bono Publico: The Architect As Developer, Daniel Hurshel Hodge

Masters Theses

The profession of architecture now encounters a precarious economic landscape because of the separation of economy and the value chain. Architecture has historically succeeded on the backs of its craftspeople and the intangible tangibility of its productions. Yet, in our current economic era, where everyone is disconnected from value creation and imbibes value through the medium of brand, architecture has responded with niche reforms and feeble assertions of legitimacy. What follows is a reevaluation of its professional values in a valueless climate. From the standpoint of the architect, coupling its systemic elements with that of the real estate developer may …

Affordable Housing For Senior Adults, Athena Seaton, Ardeshir Anjomani

Planning Masters Professional Reports

Despite the fact that America is aging, the trend for many cities is to appeal to the Millennial (born between 1977 and 1995) and Generation X (born between 1965 and 1976) populations. Most literature in planning and urban development has focused on appealing to the upcoming generation of young professionals who prefer public transportation and living downtown in walkable communities. New building construction is expanding though new rental housing is mostly targeted toward those with higher incomes, affordable housing is not increasing to the same degree. Consequently, the realization of the growing need for affordable housing for senior adults has …

In The Projects: Rebuilding Social Housing In New York City, Ruo Piao Chen

Honors Capstone Projects - All

"The most logical solution to the affordable housing crisis in New York City is to redevelop the city’s public housing stock. However, Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s administration is far more concerned with incentivizing private deve"

Living Tiny Legally, James G. Rollin

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Over the last 40 years, the average new United States house has increased in size by more than 1,000 square feet, from an average size of 1,660 square feet in 1973 (earliest year available from the Census Bureau) to 2,687 square feet last year (Perry, 2016). In that same time period, there was a 91% increase in home square footage per inhabitant and a decrease in average household size. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average home in the United States costs approximately $358,000 to build, an increase of roughly $200,000 since 1998. Meanwhile, the average annual income in …

Community Land Trusts: A Help Or Hindrance To Community Development In The United States, Andrew Kuka

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

The availability of affordable housing in the United States continues to be an issue for Americans who are on the brink of homelessness, rely on housing subsidies, or struggle to pay their mortgages or rents. These issues, as well as the gentrification threat that community development poses to low-income residents can have deleterious effects on democratic participation and community development efforts. One proposed solution to these problems is the implementation of more community land trust programs nationally. This paper will assess the practicality of CLTs, and what such an implementation would mean for individuals, government entities, community members, and community …

In The Projects: Rebuilding Social Housing In New York City, Ruo Piao Chen, Caroline Jeon

Architecture Thesis Prep

There is a shrinking stock of all types of affordable housing, resulting in the inflation of rent across all demographics. The rise in rent makes housing detrimentally unaffordable for people with extremely low incomes. Mayor Bill de Blasio also recognizes that there is an affordable housing crisis, promising to build over 200,000 units of affordable housing in the next ten years. However, his plan applies to new and privately-owned construction, not the massive public stock that the city already owns. The state of disrepair of public housing combined with generally underutilized sites in 1950’s projects makes the public portion of …

Risk Analysis And Disaster Recovery: A Florida Lihtc Case Study, Valerie Hammett

All Dissertations

In spite of numerous programs and policies that encourage private investment in affordable housing, particularly after hurricane disaster, insufficient numbers of affordable units exist to meet demand. Some low-income households are displaced in the course of disaster recovery, and others face severe housing cost burdens as demand for affordable housing outstrips supply. Some suggest competitive uses for limited funds impede production. Others suggest that disaster and recovery policies tend to favor homeowners and economic recovery. Little attention has been given to the development decisions of affordable housing developers during disaster recovery. This study examines LIHTC development risk after the 2004 …

Historic Preservation And Affordable Housing In Rhode Island: A Policy Analysis, Elizabeth De Block

Historic Preservation Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Revitalization Of The Lower Worthington Street District (Springfield, Ma), Karl S. Allen, Mark D. Berube, Calliope E. Bosen, Gregory Robert Lewis, Alexander Casey Mello, Caitlin Anne Michniewicz, John Armando Rosa, Sarah Spencer, Stacy E. Wasserman

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The goal of Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings. In Fall 2013, the course completed three projects: Master Plans & Land-Use Elements, the Revitalization of the Lower Worthington Street District (Springfield, MA), an Asset …

Designing Affordable Housing For Adaptability: Principles, Practices, & Application, Micaela R. Danko

Pitzer Senior Theses

While environmental and economic sustainability have been driving factors in the movement towards a more resilient built environment, social sustainability is a factor that has received significantly less attention over the years. Federal support for low-income housing has fallen drastically, and the deficit of available, adequate, affordable homes continues to grow. In this thesis, I explore one way that architects can design affordable housing that is intrinsically sustainable. In the past, subsidized low-income housing has been built as if to provide a short-term solution—as if poverty and lack of affordable housing is a short-term problem. However, I argue that adaptable …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Greening An Older Modest-Sized Home, Delilah Zoe Leval

Master's Theses

This professional project estimates the upfront costs and utility savings expected from greening an approximately 1,100 square foot home built in the 1950s in the San Francisco Bay Area. Two sets of upgrades (alternative and original) were compared for costs and benefits. The alternative set (which included ceiling insulation and omitted upgrading to dual-pane windows) clearly out performed the original set. The alternative set would be expected to reduce resident utility bills by 28% annually, and to prevent approximately 2,700 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The water efficiency upgrades were the best performing group of upgrades, as they had …

South Burlington Vt: New Urbanist South Village, Jack Kartez, Richard Barringer

Planning

The 220 acre master plan for South Village, the largest project in the City of South Burlington’s history, encompasses multiple housing types and innovative provisions for affordable housing. It integrates housing with open space and natural resource conservation, including a major Community Supported Agriculture project developed by a nonprofit partner, the Intervale Foundation. While not a mixed-use project (that is, commercial as well as residential development), South Village nonetheless represents a qualitative change in approach for South Burlington by incorporating large-scale open space preservation as part of development and multiple housing-types in one project. The case study recounts events leading …