This session will explore how the establishment of regulations for well designed WFH and unit-specific outdoor spaces in urban housing, especially affordable housing, could help address these inequities and present opportunities for improved health and wellness. It will examine the ripple effects across unit, building, and urban design, the role of zoning and regulation as both facilitating carrot and stick, the impacts on affordable, market rate, and luxury developer pro formas, and metrics for measuring the benefits of establishing these two types of spaces as prerequisites for good urban housing. Participants will have the tools including understanding regulatory and financial opportunities and constraints—to make informed arguments for increasing equity and ROI through the introduction of WFH and unit specific outdoor spaces in housing when pitching to clients, and when advocating to regulatory bodies for zoning changes to improve housing equity.

Learning Objective 1:

Participants will be able to identify the design implications of introducing WFH and unit specific outdoor spaces in housing across market types.

Learning Objective 2:

Participants will be able to competently advocate for the introduction of WFH and unit specific outdoor spaces in housing, informed by an understanding of the regulatory frameworks around doing so.

Learning Objective 3:

Participants will be able to identify how the introduction of WFH and unit-specific outdoor spaces in housing can help to address systemic inequalities brought about by housing and the built environment.

Learning Objective 4:

Participants will be able to address inequitable housing conditions through thoughtful and simple design solutions, bringing to them an understanding of how to identify context-specific opportunities and constraints to doing so.

Speakers:

Cyrus Dahmubed Assoc. AIA - Director of Research, Utile, Inc.
Rachelle Ain AIA - Associate, Utile, Inc.