Academy for Public Scholarship on the Built Environment:
HOUSING EQUITY

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) has established an extended training opportunity for faculty to expand the outreach and impact of their research and scholarship on housing equity. Housing equity ensures fair access to safe, affordable, and inclusive housing, and architects can advance the cause by articulating critical links between design, social justice, and community well-being. ACSA is partnering with The Op-Ed Project for the second consecutive year to provide training and guidance on externalization strategies. This is an opportunity for architecture faculty whose research focuses on housing equity, and is intended to help amplify their impact on public discourse and policy.

ACSA will select a cohort of twelve academics to take part in The Op-Ed Project’s “Write to Change the World” workshops. The Op-Ed Project is a think tank and leadership organization that accelerates the ideas and impact of underrepresented voices. It is a community of journalists and thought leaders who actively share knowledge, resources, and connections. The workshops are 100% virtual, with participants joining from across a range of identities, voices, and paradigms. The workshops span two consecutive days, each consisting of 3.5-hour sessions, and provide participants with tools for generating new ideas, strategies for timely engagement, an outline for a draft op-ed, and connections to a diverse network of peers. Academics will explore the sources of credibility, the patterns and elements of persuasion, the difference between being “right” and being effective, how to think more expansively about their expertise, and ways to amplify the impact of their scholarship. After the workshop, academics will enjoy up to three months of access to The OpEd Project’s Mentor-Editor network, receiving individualized feedback on their op-ed drafts to double their chances of publication.

In addition, ACSA will offer all its members the opportunity to join a series of training modules led by experts on issues of housing equity and public scholarship. These experts include members of the AIA Housing & Community Development Knowledge Community and allied organizations working toward housing equity.

By May 2026, academics will complete the workshops and submit an op-ed for publication in a local, regional, or national news outlet.