AIA'S 'COMMUNITIES BY DESIGN' PROVIDES "HOW-TO" FOR
(Name of Locale) CITIZENS WORKING TO IMPROVE THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS

Local architects "ready and able" to lend expertise to
those seeking quality-of-life solutions, new publication asserts

Contact: Name of contact
Phone: (some numerals)
Email: (someone@somewhere)
www.dot.com

For Immediate Release

(CITY, STATE), (Date), 2001—The (Name of Local Chapter) American Institute of Architects (AIA) released a new booklet recently that outlines how (Name of Locale) citizens, government leaders, and neighborhood activists can best take advantage of architects' unique skills when working to improve the region's quality of life.

Communities by Design: Influencing Your Community's Quality of Life, unveiled recently at the AIA's national Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference in Washington, is the first in a series of AIA publications that will address quality-of-life issues. The booklet focuses on the technical, creative, and problem-solving expertise that architects offer communities, and how design professionals are ready and able to find solutions that make communities safer, more attractive, and economically sound.

"Communities by Design will demonstrate to a broader audience what we already know: that (Name of state or city) architects have been a largely untapped resource for citizens striving to make our communities better," said (Name and title of local/state AIA executive). "Architects are trained problem-solvers, listeners, and consensus-builders. (Name of state or city) architects want to do more to help our citizens create a vision of what they want their communities to look like, then help turn that vision into a reality."

Good design adds to economic, "livability" quotient

Thoughtful and creative design, said (Name of AIA executive), helps create dignified and welcoming public spaces, neighborhoods that mix commerce and residential areas, and transportation options that allow for driving, walking, biking, or mass transit. A community's desire for preservation of historic structures and open spaces can also be achieved through good design, he said.

Well-designed communities, added (Name of AIA executive), also make good economic sense. Aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods with varied transportation options, vibrant public places, and a tangible identity draw more visitors and residents, leading to increases in commerce and tax revenues. "Good design is a smart investment and adds value to a community," he noted.

Architects involved, but ready to do even more

Architects in (Name of state/city) said (Name of AIA executive), are already engaged in local development initiatives but see an urgent need to do more. "To be most effective, architects need to be connected to all stages of community planning and building, not just individual structures," said (Name of AIA executive). Communities by Design, (s)he said, is intended to prompt local civic leaders and government officials to involve architects in community improvement projects from the early stages.

The new booklet, (s)he explained, demonstrates how architects can help identify a community's needs, reach agreement on priorities, then create alternatives for citizens to consider and act on.

As one example of architects serving as catalysts for change, (Name of AIA executive) cited the AIA's 30 year-old "R/UDAT" initiative that has helped create and implement action plans for more than 130 cities and towns around the country. (Or, preferably, add your OWN local examples here of architects serving as community activists and catalysts for change).

(If you wish, you may include the R/UDAT and charrette examples described below, or simply outline one or more local examples)

The architectural equivalent of a SWAT team, Regional/Urban Design Assistance Teams—R/UDAT, for short—visit participating communities to engage local citizens and decision makers on key livability issues. Together, they identify problem areas, develop viable solutions, and create implementation plans.

In addition, local architects host design "charrettes"—a smaller, yet still intense version of a R/UDAT—that bring a community together to help create new visions and develop options for solutions to local development and livability challenges. In an increasing number of communities—such as East Nashville, Tenn., and East Palo Alto, Calif., both of which successfully conducted recent design-for-livability efforts—local architects have provided hands-on guidance and leadership. A similar effort is currently underway in Buffalo, N.Y.

(Add here any plans you may have to distribute Communities by Design to local citizens, activists, or other groups) See below for example)

More than 800 of the nation's architects, representing nearly every state, are delivering copies of Communities by Design by hand to their nationally elected representatives this week as part of the AIA's legislative gathering. Key "livability" topics to be addressed throughout the conference include school construction and modernization legislation and brownfields redevelopment.

(Add standard "boilerplate" here)

(You may wish to add the following editor's note): Copies of Communities by Design are available to the media for review. Contact (Name of your PR/marketing contact), (phone and email).

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.