Second Prize: Urban Green Infrastructure for Improved, Healthier Living Environments to Assist Vulnerable Populations

Team: Amanda Roff, Emily Kuwaye, Jaya Alaga

Jury: The concept for the development of an innovative, sustainable, healthier building material to address Environmental Health Equity is strong. The proposal was well thought out and interdisciplinary and certainly addresses the issue of health equity and community engagement.

COVID-19 has revealed the increasing need to develop innovative solutions that establish health equity and enhance the well-being of the homeless and of other vulnerable populations. Our proposal recommends incorporating green infrastructure into urban design and introducing financial incentives to improve struggling communities through investment.
Using a sustainable, geopolymer concrete material for housing construction can ameliorate occupant exposure concerns posed by conventional building materials. We propose casting this concrete into templates of pre-established dimensions to fashion “modules,” or buildings of uniform shape and size. Because the modules can be readily stacked upon each other in a vertical fashion, they offer a structural remedy to housing challenges faced in densely packed cities. The modules also provide occupants with personal space, suggesting their applicability during pandemics such as COVID-19, where appropriate quarantine measures can reduce disease spread. In addition to a healthier material, we suggest green infrastructure can be incorporated into cities through phytoremediators, green roofs, and shared outdoor spaces. The resulting cleaner environment can encourage walkability, decreasing residents’ reliance on conventional transportation. Lastly, offering low-rent modules for shops can yield an influx of capital and services into underserved neighborhoods. Governmental grants can fund this financial scheme that promotes productive partnership between a community’s commercial and residential sectors. Businesses can grow through employing module homeowners, who are given opportunities to enhance their skill sets.

A Case-Study of Homeless Shelter (Re)Design