Honorable Mention: PARCELAS VERTICALES

Infrastructure cannot keep pace with the number of new inhabitants. Fueled by dreams of a better quality of life, the world’s rural population is migrating to cities at an alarming rate. Fifty percent of the world’s population lives in cities while just a century ago only ten percent were urban dwellers. New York city’s population is projected to increase approximately 9% reaching 9 million by 2026. Currently, a majority of New Yorkers cannot afford well equipped housing, and owning a property is just a dream. Around ​80% of the renters in America are rent burdened, which means that they are paying more than 30% of their family income towards rent. This denies them the opportunity to grow and dream of a better life, because they spend most of their time in life and money on paying rent. Because of high housing prices, around 63,000 New Yorkers spent the night at homeless shelters in 2018, many of which have jobs and families. Parcelas Verticales proposes a new resolution to the affordable housing crisis in New York, by balancing human rights with human responsibilities: where people become the main actor in the affordable housing solution. Instead of providing a complete home to those in need, this proposal seeks to provide vertical parcels coupled with the amenities for residents to construct their own homes. ​Because the parcels are incomplete, they can be purchased at a lower cost than buying or even renting a complete unit. This relieves economic burdens on residents, and also lowers construction costs for developers. ​Residents will gradually construct their own homes at their own pace based on their income. Because the residents have the opportunity to build and design their own homes, this allows for an architectural representation of each resident culture and values, empowering the residents to be self reliance on deciding how their unit will look.

Parcelas Verticales provides people the opportunity to freely think and grow through a variety of amenity spaces within the complex. Rentable spaces within a public market allow residents to start and grow their own businesses. Workshops that are coupled with the core towers provide residents with the opportunity to be creative and learn on how to fabricate their own homes. Expansive rooftop agriculture allows residents to cultivate and grow their own crops. A child education center and a wealthness center at ground level promote the healthy growth of both families and individuals in the community. Parcelas Verticales seeks to empower its residents to dream for a better life through its multiple amenities and how it engages the residents to be part of the solution to affordable housing.