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Here's what some participating students,
developers,
faculty,
and community
leaders had to say about the Affordable Housing Development
Competition.
From Students
"The Affordable Housing Development Competition was a
great way for me to synthesize and apply what I'd learned
in my first year of planning school — and to figure out
what I still needed to learn. I appreciated the opportunity
to get a feel for this type of professional work before committing
to it long-term." — Caitlin Gallagher, member
of the 2005 first place Chinatown team, 2006 candidate for
a graduate degree in city planning at MIT
"While much has been said about the challenge of finding
affordable housing in Boston, the Affordable Housing Development
Competition brought me face to face with the challenges of
developing affordable homes in the Greater Boston area, giving
me a more dynamic view of this palpable dilemma." —
Shannon Stewart Christmas, member of the 2005 second place
Waltham team, 2006 candidate for a graduate degree in city
planning at MIT
"Rather than complementing my graduate work, the competition completed it. Without the competition, my degree program would have come shy of realizing my desire to take part in a local development project." — Cory Schreier, Master in Urban Planning, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University
From Developers
"What we're ending up doing is very close to what the
students proposed. We incorporated a lot of their ideas in
the interior and exterior design of the new building. It was
fun to work with a group who has fresh ideas and aren't jaded
yet.'' — Evelyn Friedman, executive director at Nuestra
Comunidad Development Corporation, whose proposal took second
place in the 2001 competition and was completed in 2005!
"The students' work was equivalent to that done by professionals.
The real value of their proposal is that they've left residents,
who helped draw up the scope of the project, with a framework
to move forward." — Lisa Davis, director of development,
Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, and 2003
participant
"I definitely feel that the competition was very useful to
us. It forced us to think about things in a new way." —
Tunua Thrash, business district project manager, Madison
Park Development Corporation, and 2002 competition participant
From Faculty
"I think the competition is becoming wonderfully institutionalized.
It allows students to apply not only their community and technical
skills but also their presentation skills to put these fabulous
proposals together." — Langley Keyes, Ford
professor of city planning in the department of urban studies
and planning at MIT, and faculty advisor for the first-place
team in 2007
"Each year the proposals seem to get more comprehensive."
— James G. Stockard, curator of the Loeb Fellowship at
the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and the
advisor for the second-place team in 2007
"A critical component of learning is understand how
to apply knowledge. The Affordable Housing Development Competition
is both an opportunity and a forum for students to interact
with community-based organizations on a timely and substantive
issue — the need for more affordable housing. The results
to date are very impressive." — Nicolas
Retsinas, director, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard
University, and judge for the 2001 competition
From Community Leaders
"I welcome this competition, because even if we had all
of the money tomorrow, it would be important to have ways
to spend it that are both efficient and able to produce housing
that is attractive." — Rep. Barney Frank
(D-MA-4), the speaker at the 2003 awards ceremony
"Affordable housing is a cornerstone of our mission. The competition has proven to be an exciting way to help inspire the next generation of community-development leaders." — Michael A. Jessee, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston
"Affordable housing is the cornerstone of community
revitalization and economic strength, not only here in Boston,
but in every city in this country. I believe that imaginative
initiatives like the Greater Boston Affordable Housing Development
Competition can play an important role in encouraging the
next generation of creative thinkers in this realm."
— Paul S. Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation
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