The following "Editorial and Opinion" published on August 20, 2001, in Banker & Tradesman.
Reprinted with permission.

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Banker & Tradesman regularly advocates for solutions to end the affordable housing crisis existing today in much of Massachusetts. We spoke out in favor of national and state housing trust funds, we support the initiatives proposed by Cardinal Law in a report issued by the Archdiocese of Boston last fall and we believe that linkage payments from commercial developers should be dispersed fairly and quickly to spur on new construction.

Affordable housing comes in many shapes and sizes, and identifying what works best in a specific community or situation is often a challenge exacerbated by a lack of accessible design information and expertise. College dormitories would not provide suitable housing for families, but would relieve pressure on the demand for apartments. A cluster development, increasing density on a portion of a parcel of land while leaving the remainder open, works in Westwood but not in Somerville. Each opportunity and each solution is a unique proposition.

Many communities find primary advocacy coming from affordable housing committees, the clergy, nonprofit organizations and community activists. Individuals participating in these forums often come to the table with great intentions and enthusiasm but minimal practical experience as designers, builders and planners. Inexperience brings false starts and unrealistic expectations to the process.

Those charged with making good decisions about what to build, how to build it and associated overall development issues now have a free and convenient resource to turn to. The Affordable Housing Design Advisor, available online at www.designadvisor.org, provides a comprehensive package of development tools useful to people with all levels of experience. The Web site is designed to help affordable housing agencies and developers avoid mistakes and successfully create new housing that is compatible with its surroundings and the community. It also is geared toward helping to ensure that affordable housing provides everything that should be expected by those who will live there.

A free, comprehensive guide to designing affordable housing may be especially valuable in Massachusetts, where the struggle to create affordable housing must be carried into the suburbs — often smaller communities where resources and know-how are not always readily available.

Design Advisor was developed by architect Deane M. Evans under contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Cooperating in the endeavor were the American Institute of Architects together with numerous organizations representing the full spectrum of affordable housing development and advocacy. The site has been influenced locally by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, MassHousing and Boston architect M. David Lee.

The Web site invites use by anyone who is "part of the solution to America's critical affordable housing challenge," and nowhere should the unlooked-for help be more welcome than in the Bay State. It has information for citizen advocates as well as seasoned development professionals. Design Advisor provides — free of cost — a step-by-step, 126-page project book that walks the prospective creators of affordable housing through the design and development process. It includes ideas on how to establish design goals, conduct cost analysis, monitor construction and assemble a project design team.

The solution to solving the housing crisis is like assembling a many-pieced puzzle. While the Affordable Housing Design Advisor is not a substitute for an experienced design and development team, it is a valuable source of information, forms and ideas gathered from across the country. The new Design Advisor is just one more part to the puzzle but, in our opinion, it has the potential to serve as a corner piece that will allow more to fall into place.