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IDCE Home > Research > Activities
National Urban Initiatives Competition at Clark University
NATIONAL URBAN INITIATIVES COMPETITION
Winners Announced
LIST OF WINNERS
Affordable and Sustainable Housing
The University of Arizona, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (CALA), Drachman Institute (DI) in partnership with the City of Tucson and the Drachman Design-Build Coalition Inc. (DDBC) were selected for 1st place for their topic Conservation Technologies for Affordable Housing. This work was led by Corky Poster, Architect, Planner and Professor, Director of DI; Mary Hardin, Architect and Professor, President of DDBC; Dr. Emily Nottingham, Director of the City of Tucson Community Services Department; Dr. Richard Eribes, Architect and Professor, DI; Dr. Nader Chalfoun, Architect and Professor, CALA; and, John Folan, Architect and Professor, DDBC. The submission was compiled and written by Shane Smith, Architect and Adjunct Faculty, Research Coordinator of DI. It was submitted by Marilyn Robinson, Associate Director of DI. This paper applies environmentally sustainable building techniques to affordable homes.
Selected for 2nd place is Dr. Basolo, the City of San Clemente, the City of Santa Ana, Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County, Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD), the Kennedy Commission, and the University of California-Irvine with their topic Sustaining Affordable Housing through Maintaining Stable Urban Neighborhoods. This paper focuses on allowing nonprofit organizations to purchase foreclosed properties before the properties are available for auctioning off.
Financial Services to Low Income Communities
Dr. Sherraden, Beyond Housing/Neighborhood Housing Services, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Washington University were selected for 1st place for their topic Developing Financial Services for Youth: College Savings Accounts in a Place-based Community Asset Building Framework. This paper aims to build assets in urban communities by proposing a college savings account for the urban youth in elementary and secondary schools that is managed by state 529 College Savings Plans.
Ms. Radcliffe, the Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were selected for 2nd place for their topic Financial Education to Latino Immigrants. The paper evaluates strategies of effectiveness of the pilot Spanish-language telenovela “Nuestro Barrio,” discussing financial issues facing Latino immigrants.
Neighborhood-Based Economic Development
Selected for 1st place are Dr. Nelson, the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission (NORPC), the University of New Orleans, and the University of Pennsylvania for their topic Job Chains in Health Care Sector and Poverty Reduction. This paper demonstrates the potential of the healthcare industry to offer ‘job chains’ to low- and semi-skilled workers in Louisiana central and regional cities, with employment and career advancement opportunities.
Selected for 2nd place are Dr. Deitrick, the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, the Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development, and the University of Pittsburgh for their topic Community and Economic Development Workforce Initiative (CEDWI). The CEDWI suggests a partnership among state, local, education, intermediary and neighborhood-based organizations that can benefit from multi-disciplinary graduate level curriculum and specialized certificates in urban affairs and social work, including course work in business planning, financing and marketing, as well as economic development law.
$60,000 AWARD - 3 WINNERS
In anticipation of the Congressional interest in new and creative urban policy initiatives and the need for the national administration’s attention to the domestic agenda, Clark University (Worcester, MA), Community Development Training Institute (Newport, RI), Freddie
Mac (Washington, DC), University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst, MA), and the National Community Development Association sought the submission of proposals to a National Urban Initiatives Competition during 2007 and 2008.
They group sought proposals that had practicality, creativity, and were well-rooted in theory. Proposals were instructed to translate from theory to model or vice versa. Furthermore, it should be feasible to enact into new legislation. This initiative was neither an academic exercise nor a best practice competition. Although they sought proposals for the domestic urban agenda, they recognized that there have been foreign literature, projects and activities proposed, especially in developing countries, and they encouraged innovations that may embrace some of these successful models.
An award of $20,000 was given to winners in each of the three categories. The categories were:
1) affordable and sustainable housing,
2) neighborhood based economic development and
3) financial services to low income communities.
There was also three $2,500 cash awards given to the second place winners in each category. Total awards amounted to over $65,000.
The process was simple and was designed to be both fair and relatively easy. Responders were expected to be in compliance with competition guidelines while maintaining high academic integrity. Among the award criteria the key ones were creatively balanced with utility. A two step competitive process followed the initial proposal request so that extensive work was not necessary prior to an initial screening of abstracts.
Eligible Applicants
All applicants had to be from an institution of higher education (this includes junior colleges), which teamed with one or more of a local government entity and/or a non-profit organization. Teams partially comprised of students were encouraged. Examples of applicant partnerships were the following:
- An institution of higher education & a local government entity
- An institution of higher education & a non-profit organization
- An institution of higher education, a local government entity & a non-profit organization
Judging Criteria
Originality/creativity
Logic of position/theory
Quality of research (including evidence of innovation, review of literature and best practices, general theoretical basis and support for argument)
Practicality/utility – a policy that could be easily translated into Federal or State legislation and
ultimate programmatic implementation
Financial feasibility for legislative implementation
Range of participants (e.g. students, city officials, non-profit board members, etc.)
Qualifications of team
Quality of overall proposal
Consistency with the United States Conference of Mayors’ “10 point plan”
Schedule
September 2007 - RFP/Call for Papers is issued
January 25, 2008 - Submission of Step I proposals are due
February 1 - March 14, 2008 - Step I of judging
March 15, 2008 - Applicants are notified of Step I decisions
June 30, 2008 - Submission of the finalists’ full Step II proposals are due
July 1 - July 31, 2008 - Final judging
August 1, 2008 - The three winners and second place winners are announced
September 18, 2008 - 6:30 PM Conferees' Reception at Clark University Tilton Hall
September 19, 2008 - 9:00 AM to 4 PM Award Conference at Clark University Tilton Hall
Dr. Mark Tigan
Clark University
IDCE
950 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01610-1477
Download the Brochure: Page 1, Page 2.
Sponsors
Clark University
Department of International Development, Community and Environment
Graduate School of Management
Community Development Training Institute (CDTI)
Freddie Mac
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Department
National Community Development Association (NCDA)
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