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