by Tracy Ostroff
Associate Editor

Summary: To build on AIA successes on key public policy issues at the end of 2007, the AIA Government Advocacy team unveiled a strategy of year-round advocacy that values patience and perseverance in the political arena. This program comes at the same time a nationwide poll of voters suggests that architects are positioned to take leadership roles on issues that affect the built environment and their practices.

This year’s Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference took place during the Presidents’ Day congressional recess, when legislators go home to their districts. So, in addition to an in-depth, interactive series of programs to help architects assert influence in Washington, the AIA national component is working with state components to organize a nationwide Advocacy Week. The program is part of an initiative to shift to a culture of advocacy in which architects are engaged with their elected officials all year long, not just during the Grassroots program in Washington, D.C.

How does this work?
“Because we won’t be seeing members of Congress in Capitol Hill, we’re going to meet with them back home, in their communities,” explains Paul Mendelsohn, vice president, Government and Community Relations. Advocacy Week will take place March 24-28, during the Easter congressional recess, during which representatives and senators meet with constituents, hold town hall meetings, identify new issues in their communities, and communicate what they are working on in Washington. It is, says Mendelsohn, an ideal time and forum to advocate on behalf of the profession.

This year, the key “asks” for the Advocacy Week visits will include:

• Extending tax incentives for energy-efficient buildings
• Making health care more affordable and accessible
• Supporting funding for community planning and mass transit projects.

Building on success
“The AIA, as the voice of the profession, must be proactive on timely issues, as well as take the long view in achieving our goals,” writes AIA Vice President Clark Manus, FAIA, in the Angle. In recent years, Manus notes, the AIA has sent advocacy alerts on key votes; refocused the annual Grassroots conference agenda to emphasize key legislative asks; established a process to seek input on current, emerging, and future issues for the Institute; and placed local advocacy into action with many AIA150 Blueprint for America projects. “All these things are a part of the advocacy culture, and the more we demonstrate that local issues have global consequences, the more we will be seen as leaders in our communities.”

Manus urges AIA members and component staff to:

• Invite members of Congress or state legislators to local AIA functions, including design award ceremonies, chapter meetings, and other social programs
• Invite elected officials to architecture firms, component offices, and architecture schools
• Request invitations to congressional press events on key AIA legislation and ask for public acknowledgement of the AIA’s advocacy role.

National poll results
A nationwide poll of voters indicates that AIA public policy issues are on the minds of all Americans. The survey, conducted by two respected national pollsters, reports that the public is dissatisfied with the work that government at all levels is doing on issues of critical importance, and views architects as problem solvers for housing, environmental, and energy issues.

The Tarrance Group, a Republican firm, and Lake Research Partners, a Democratic firm, examined 11 areas related to the AIA public policy interests, including the current energy situation, tax policies and development, energy-efficient housing, greenhouse gas emissions, growth and development, and the profession of the Architect of the Capitol. The pollsters also looked at an overlay sample of architects to see how their views coincide—or diverge—from the general electorate.

Environment high priority for architects
Sustainability issues are gaining traction in America. Pocketbook issues, namely gas prices, medical insurance costs, and reducing the dependence on foreign oil, still do resonate with the general public, but the three issues in which there has been the most growth in the “not at all important” category are all environment/energy issues—getting buildings to use less energy and reducing gas emissions.

“While voters want to see relief on energy costs, they seem less concerned about taking active steps to reduce energy consumption. This is a case of which the AIA needs to continue to promote the merits,” the survey notes.

The pollsters conclude that “The current political climate and issue matrix provide the AIA with an excellent opportunity to position architects as a profession that is committed to providing valuable assistance to voters and to government in order to meet important goals like conserving energy, saving money, protecting the environment, and managing growth in a responsible manner.”

Consensus builders: energy, community relations issues
Voters had a 76 percent favorable rating of architects, the fifth most respected position after grade school teachers, police officers, medical doctors, and accountants. Although three in four voters positively viewed architects, the number represents a nine-point negative movement in views about architects.

Still, this approval rating bolsters the position of AIA members to constitute a positive force to help create governmental solutions for top Institute priorities, including housing affordability, urban renewal, and real estate development, the issues on which voters hold the most negative views of the work of government.

Poll aligns with public policies
The poll aligns with AIA national public policies. For example, on the question of the energy situation, architects take a more concerned view, with 43 percent of them selecting that conditions are on the “verge of crisis,” versus the public at large, at 23 percent. When asked about tax policy and development, a majority of the general public supports energy-efficient construction, a commitment to energy independence, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, increased funding for mass transit, historic preservation, and green space preservation.

The poll reveals that most Americans (91 percent) still do not link greenhouse gas emissions with commercial and residential buildings, instead selecting cars and truck exhaust as the top cause. That’s in contrast to architects, who chose commercial and residential buildings by a third. (Twenty-seven percent did select car and truck exhaust.)

A strong majority of voters are willing to pay an additional $4,000-$5,000 for a more energy-efficient home and a majority is willing to expend even $8,000-$10,000. For renovations to their existing home, a strong majority of voters are willing to undertake energy-efficient renovations.

Other findings

• An overwhelming majority (89 percent) of voters believe that the Architect of the Capitol should be a licensed architect.
• Ninety percent of respondents said people who design and build houses and commercial buildings should try to convince property owners to use construction materials that protect the environment and building standards that reduce energy consumption, even if it costs a little more to do so.
• Eight-six percent of Americans believe that the federal government should forgo its dependence on foreign oil through energy conservation and development of alternative energy sources “in the same way it committed itself to winning the Second World War and landing a man on the moon.”
• Sixty-four percent of respondents said historic buildings should be preserved even if it means their owners should pay less property tax than other property owners.