AIA Outlines Policy Platform 2020

Ahead of the upcoming conventions, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) is launching its Policy Platform 2020. The platform details AIA’s advocacy priorities that will advance the architecture profession and improve the built environment by addressing economic, climate and community needs in the U.S.

“AIA supports strong and unequivocal policies that ensure that urgent climate change issues, including those that disproportionately impact communities of color, are immediately addressed,” says AIA EVP/Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA. “It is time to reinvigorate our economy, while also ensuring robust investment in infrastructure and our communities.”

AIA has shared the Policy Platform 2020 with both the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee. The platform focuses on three areas:

Economy
AIA is calling on the federal government to prioritize job creation and equitable access to opportunities by:

• Investing in Science, Technology, Engineering, Architecture and Math (STEAM) and student loan debt relief to strengthen a diverse talent pipeline.
• Strengthening the inclusion of businesses owned and operated by historically underrepresented grounds including women and racially and ethnically diverse business owners in contract policy.
• Backing tax incentives that spark resilient, sustainable, and equitable development.
• Supporting investment in low-income housing tax credits and historic preservation tax credits.
• Encouraging favorable tax policies for small businesses.
• Promoting research and development in tax credits and research funding.

Climate Action
AIA is advocating federal action to eliminate all building carbon emissions by 2040 through:

• Rejoining the Paris Climate Accord.
• Promoting science-based environmental regulation and research.
• Addressing the disproportionate impact of climate change and environmental degradation on Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC).
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency in buildings.
• Promoting renewable energy and embrace building electrification.
• Creating federal incentives for the adoption of net zero carbon energy codes.

Healthy and Equitable Communities
AIA urges the federal government to commit to a future built environment that improves individual health and prepares communities to weather a variety of storms through:

• Catalyzing accessible and affordable housing.
• Promoting toxin-free living in buildings.
• Confronting the legacy of discriminatory zoning and housing policies on BIPOC who have been historically marginalized with deleterious economic disinvestment.
• Housing those who are experiencing homelessness and providing related supportive services.
• Advancing equitable development, including mass transit-oriented development, multimodal streets, and reformed Opportunity Zones.
• Funding best practices for school design to promote healthy, safe learning environments.
• Advocating for federal funding to support healthcare surge.
• Improving building resilience and adaptation to allow populations to shelter-in-place.
• Integrating buildings into the grid to promote energy resilience.
• Funding flood and risk mapping, while also prioritizing resilient land-use policies.

Learn more about AIA’s advocacy priorities and efforts.