HCDC welcomes the Housing Affordability Research team at Perkins&Will to present their current projects and findings.

At Perkins&Will, they believe that everyone deserves a safe, healthy, affordable place to live.  For them this means that families pay less than 30% of their income for housing.  This goal is no longer simply a challenge, it is a crisis.  They aim to reduce the housing cost burden by leveraging our skills and expertise to raise the bar in design and delivery of affordable housing, increasing the quantity and quality of the housing stock, and advocating for equity and access in housing for all.  With these goals in mind, they formed a group that is conducting research around Housing Affordability.  This research has two primary focus subjects in 2021:

“Equitable Investment” – what can we learn by overlaying GIS maps of census data, equity metrics, and public and private investment to decrease inequities and displacement?
“Healthy Affordable Housing” – what can we learn from Affordable Housing projects that have adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote health of residents and how can we apply this to future design?

Please join us to learn more about Perkins&Will current research initiatives, what they are learning in the process, and how all of this can fuel a brighter future in housing for everyone.

Guest speakers:
Stephen Messinger, Senior Associate and Architect at Perkins&Will.  As an Architect in the Boston studio, Stephen works on a wide range of design projects and leads the Sustainability Group and the Housing Affordability Lab.

Dr. Erika Eitland, Research Analyst in the Human Experience Lab. She is a passionate researcher dedicated to understanding how the built environment influences human health, specifically in K-12 schools, affordable housing, and public realm.


 

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