The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Archtecture (ACSA) announced today the recipients of the 2012 Decade of Design: The AIA Urban and Regional Solutions Challenge. The $40,000 in grants was awarded to three U.S. schools of architecture for reseach initatives that promote healthier communities worldwide. The grants were awarded to:

  • Texas A&M University, $20,000 Award – Evaluating Health Benefits of Liveable Communities: Toolkit for measuring the health impacts of walkable communities, validated with an empirical study of a LEED-ND neighborhood.
  • University of Arkansas, $15,000 Award – Fayetteville 2030: Creating Food City Scenario Plan: The study of planning possibilities and design solutions for creating a local food infrastructure while accommodating a quickly growing population.
  • University of New Mexico, $5,000 Award – Establishing Interdisciplinary Health-Architecture Curriculum: Pilot program to develop a framework for implementing a three-year interprofessional program for addressing health issues in local neighborhoods.

To launch the Decade of Design the AIA partnered with ACSA and the CGI to solicit proposals for research projects in the first of a series of topic areas: design and health. Selected from proposals by leading schoools of architecture all across the U.S., these projects launch the AIA’s long-term commitment to advance the health of communities large and small in the United States and beyond. As communities across the globe face increasingly complex challenges to their quality of life, the AIA will work with ACSA and other partners within the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to find innovative solutions. Decade of Design: The AIA Urban and Regional Solutions Challenge is a 10-year pledge to engage architecture schools and other stakeholders in order to address the problems facing urban, suburban, and rural communities.