Book Explores the Role of Design in Addressing Housing Challenges
Homes are fundamentally physical objects. Their design matters critically for how well they meet the needs of residents, how they enable or deter connections with neighbors, how economical they are to construct and operate, and how aesthetically pleasing they are, which can bring joy to those who experience them and exert a profound influence on the surrounding neighborhood’s economic and social vibrancy for decades.
For over thirty years, The State of the Nation’s Housing has been our Center’s signature annual report and a vital reference that elevates an understanding of the fundamental importance of housing to the well-being of individuals and society. The report strives to be comprehensive, covering many drivers of market conditions and housing policy all over the country, and implications for all segments of society. But we have paid little attention to the physical buildings that are our homes, beyond examining structural inadequacies and energy efficiency concerns.
With our latest book, The State of Housing Design, we sought to address this gap in our work, to live up to our aspiration to take a comprehensive view of housing, and to draw on design expertise at the Harvard Graduate School of Design to call attention to the important role that design can and must play in addressing the housing challenges we face as a nation. The book, which is available through Harvard University Press, is now also available in full as a free PDF download on our website.
While The State of Housing Design title is meant to evoke our signature annual report, the book is quite different in both structure and approach. Where The State of the Nation’s Housing report is highly quantitative and aims to be objective, the book is more narrative and includes the differing perspectives of nine essayists. But the two share a common genealogy; both are fundamentally concerned with identifying housing challenges and informing what can be done to address them. And both are intended to fulfill our mission of advancing policy and practice to improve access to decent and affordable, sustainable homes in thriving communities.
For the Center’s traditional audience, we hope the book will elevate an understanding and appreciation of the critical role design plays in addressing the nation’s housing challenges. At the same time, we hope it will invite a new audience of designers into our work.
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