25 FINALISTS NAMED IN '23 IVORY PRIZE FOR HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
There comes a point where whatever you hear or read or see that's wise, or stirring, or brilliant, its raw meaning streams back to and from housing's once and future challenge: Affordability.
This is why a passage New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie crafted so beautifully for use on an entirely separate matter – democracy – struck us as the obvious and only way to give due respect to effort, investment, and focus on housing's pre-eminent chronic pain point. In its intended context, the passage calls powerfully to our "better angels" to continue a nearly 250-year-old experiment in governing. Out of context, where "Everything Is About The Housing Market," Bouie's words resonate with realism and a glimmer of undying hope.
He writes (and we'll parenthetically add the words "housing affordability" where our involuntary reflex sees them as if they were included in the text):
The great virtue (or perhaps curse) of democracy [housing affordability] is that it doesn’t settle — it keeps moving. There are no final victories, but there are no final defeats either. There is only the struggle for a more humane world or, for some among us, a more hierarchical one."
Now, in the "housing theory of everything" framing, although the matter may be chronic and may have plagued generations of solutions seekers as far back as anyone might care to look, affordability and the lack thereof never do truly settle. "It keeps moving. There are no final victories, but there are no final defeats either."
Pursuing solutions – come victory or defeat – remains the only path forward, however discouraged we are and discouraging the realities stack up to be.
Construction and Design
Madelon | Denver, Colorado
Madelon simplifies infill housing development by streamlining and productizing the entire process. They seamlessly integrate each component, including pre-designed housing products that are compatible with industrialized housing manufacturers, into their online REDtech platform. This allows small local developers, non-profit institutions, and even community trusts to get into the driver's seat and finally leverage new construction technology to identify and build more affordable housing supply at scale.
You can read full article and see all nominees HERE