The Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced on January 9 the release of a jointly produced five-part podcast series that will be available on the Opportunity Starts at Home podcast webpage. This special series, created in collaboration with AIA’s Housing & Community Development Knowledge Community’s Right-to-Housing Working Group, highlights the multi-sector impacts of affordable housing. Visit OSAH's podcast webpage!
Featuring insightful conversations with architects, the episodes explore:
- How the human-centered design of housing can create enduring, supportive communities.
- How federal policies can address racial inequities and economic injustices in housing.
- Real-world examples of architectural innovations driving equity and sustainability.
Hosted by Chantelle Wilkinson and Julianne Walker of the OSAH campaign, the series focuses on the need to adopt a multi-sector approach to housing advocacy involving architects in pivotal roles in order to promote justice and equity.
Background
In 2017, AIA declared that access to housing was a “fundamental right.” But what does that mean in practice? How can architects and advocates collaborate to make quality housing accessible for all? The podcast series explores these questions in ways meant to resonate with architects, policymakers, educators, advocates, and members of the public curious about the intersections of housing, human rights, and public policy.
Schedule
Throughout January and February 2025, new episodes will be released weekly on Soundcloud, Apple, and Spotify. The episodes are scheduled as follows:
- January 13: Episode 1: “Housing as a Human Right - The Role of Architects in Housing Equity”
- January 20: Episode 2: “Designing for Culturally Adequate Housing - Community Design Approaches in Housing”
- January 27: Episode 3: “Multi-Sector Perspective - How Design Intersects with Health, Housing, and the Environment”
- February 3: Episode 4: “Preserving Affordability - The Role of Architects in Saving Existing Housing Stock”
- February 10: Episode 5: “Architects for Change - Public Housing and Social Transformation”