2021 AIA/ACSA Intersections Research Conference: COMMUNITIES

For this conference, there will be five tracks focused on resilient communities. Respondents should identify one of these five tracks, that most relate to their research while completing their abstract submission. Across all five tracks, we invite all submissions to address one or more of the principles from the AIA Framework for Design Excellence.

• Equitable Communities
  Design solutions affect more than the client and current occupants. Good design includes considerations of community history, context, culture, and more to positively impact present and future occupants and the larger community. How might the ‘Social Determinants of Health’ (Kaiser Family Foundation) and similar frameworks set the stage for how we approach equity in built environment considerations?
• Healthy Communities
  Good design supports health and well-being for all people, considering COVID, physical, mental, and emotional effects on building occupants and the resilience of the surrounding community.
• Zero-Carbon Communities
  Given our current and future climate challenges highly energy-efficient community-based projects are needed to create carbon-free & renewable energy-powered resilient places.
• Community Localism
  Showcasing resilient community-based design responses to one’s own area or region, such as grassroots efforts, community design centers, and local ventures, along with attention to material supply chains, local trades education, and impact of community culture and engagement, etc.
• Post-Pandemic Communities
  As we wrestle with the impacts of the pandemic and pressing calls to address systemic racism and inequities, we need our communities to thrive and bounce back in climate-responsive and resilient ways. How can we take a critical look at the disproportionately negative impact of COVID on our communities of color and provide a pathway for a better future? What are the lessons learned and silver linings that can inform our future for the better?