To many, the words “good design” invokes images of aesthetics and pleasurable visuals. The common misconception is that design is an expendable amenity, especially when it comes to affordable housing. If the focus is to keep things within budget, why waste money on design? The paper “Bringing the Power of Design to Affordable Housing: The History and Evolution of the Affordable Housing Design Advisor” recounts the history of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its attempts to provide information on the benefits of well-designed housing. Great design is generally the difference between a product that succeeds and a product that doesn’t, and it’s ironic how often corners are cut when it comes to design.
As a way to educate the public, the HUD created the Affordable Housing Design Advisor, a web-based tool that provided developers, sponsors, and users to understand why good design is so important. Participants had negative biases and associations about it, and the common narrative was that design is expensive and overall not worth it. However, it was greatly underestimated how big of an impact it would have on comfort, security, and the overall atmosphere. Essential elements of housing include easy to use paths, rooms with access to light, well laid out parking plans, and so much more, all of which could not be achieved without educated and thoughtful designers working alongside the engineers.
Many times, you will hear that the best design is unnoticeable. When you are able to carry out your tasks without even thinking about the means through which you can, the design has succeeded, and this is probably why so many people discredit it. As someone whose parents’ background is in engineering, I’ve often found I’ve had to defend myself and my educational choices, and continuously explain the legitimacy of design as a field. It is not and should not be considered a luxury, especially when it is so critical to the quality and quantity of affordable housing developments, and to deliver the best solutions, we must reverse the negative biases non-designers have towards such an integral element of our world.
- Evans, Deane. “Bringing the Power of Design to Affordable Housing: The History and Evolution of the Affordable Housing Design Advisor.” Cityscape, vol. 16, no. 2, 2014, pp. 87–102. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26326885. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020.
- Affordable Housing Design Advisor, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, web.njit.edu/abs/.
- Evans, Deane, and Jody Beck. “Good Design: The Best Kept Secret in Community Development.” Lisc.org.
- authors, All, and Katrin B. Anacker orcid.org/0000-0002-3423-6738. “Introduction: Housing Affordability and Affordable Housing.” Taylor & Francis, 12 Mar. 2019, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19491247.2018.1560544.
- Freeman, Lance. “America’s affordable housing crisis: a contract unfulfilled.” American journal of public health vol. 92,5 (2002): 709-12. doi:10.2105/ajph.92.5.709
