Summary: AIA leadership this month met with Ron Sims, deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other top HUD officials to discuss working together to promote sustainable communities across the United States.

HUD recently entered into an interagency partnership for sustainable communities with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to “provide more transportation choices; promote equitable, affordable housing; enhance economic competitiveness; support existing communities; coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment; and value communities and neighborhoods.” This unprecedented collaboration is expected to coordinate programs and funding streams to support American communities more effectively.

During the HUD meeting, AIA Vice President Clark Manus, FAIA, and Executive Vice President/CEO Christine McEntee shared with Sims the role that architects play in addressing these challenges and offered the AIA’s support through its Design Assistance Team (DAT) program to help HUD and its partners foster livable communities.

Sims served as King County, Wash., commissioner before being tapped by President Obama to be deputy HUD secretary. According to the Seattle Times, Sims left King County with “a legacy of denser suburbs, more open space, a larger trail network, and a technologically advanced sewer system designed to handle continued growth.”

According to Billie Kaumaya, manager, AIA Federal Regulatory Relations, “Deputy Secretary Sims was excited to hear about the DAT program and was particularly interested in helping America’s ‘shrinking’ cities plan for revitalization. We look forward to working with HUD, DOT, and EPA in making livable community policies a reality,” she says.