AIA helps communities achieve sustainability
The Washington-based American Institute of Architects Center for Communities by Design (AIA CCD) has selected seven communities to receive technical assistance under its 2010 Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) program. SDAT brings together architects and other professionals to provide roadmaps for participating communities to become environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.
The seven communities are Allegheny County, Pa.; Allentown, Pa.; Bridgeport, Conn.; Coos Bay, Ore.; Ithaca, N.Y.; Oxford, Miss.; and Portland, Maine. The communities were selected based on their applications that outlined the economic, environmental and social equity challenges facing their region. As part of the SDAT program, each community will receive a three-day preliminary/scoping visit from architect-led teams of professionals, including planners, hydrologists, economic development specialists and others.
The teams will generate reports highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the communities’ sustainability, and consult with government leaders by phone or email. “As the SDAT program has evolved, communities all over the country have embraced and implemented the detailed solutions for neighborhood revitalization, transportation infrastructure challenges and economic development that our volunteer teams have provided after conducting background research and an intensive design and planning charette,” said AIA CCD Director Joel Mills.
Read more about the AIA CCD and the SDAT program visit.