HUD Selects City of Madison Community Development Authority as Partner for the Annual Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design and Planning Competition

HUD hopes to inspire and support students of fields such as architecture, planning, policy, and finance in advancing affordable and sustainable housing for low- and moderate-income Americans.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced the City of Madison Community Development Authority (CDA) in Madison, Wisconsin will be the partnering public housing agency for the 11th annual Innovation in Affordable Housing (IAH) Student Design and Planning Competition.

Each year, HUD's Innovation in Affordable Housing competition invites graduate students enrolled in accredited educational institutions in the United States to form multi-disciplinary teams to respond to an existing affordable housing design and planning issue. The competition requires teams composed of graduate students in architecture, planning and policy, finance, and other areas to address social, economic, environmental, design, financial, and construction issues in addition to an affordable housing design challenge.

“Today’s students are more creative than ever,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “Through this competition, we’re channeling their ingenuity to build quality, safe, and resilient affordable housing for millions of Wisconsin families. I’m pleased by my team’s commitment to innovative new ways to advance housing for those we serve.”

The Madison CDA currently owns a 169-unit public housing building on 7-acre site. They are considering demolishing the current building and replacing it with multiple newly constructed buildings. This process will include repositioning the 169 public housing units through a Section 18 or RAD/Section 18 blend application. Madison CDA’s primary goal is to create a moderately dense and sustainable mixed-income community that includes affordable and workforce housing. To accomplish this goal, student teams will develop a project that includes both multifamily rental developments and affordable homeownership opportunities. Madison CDA has also requested that teams reconnect the site to the surrounding neighborhood.

After the submission of initial applications in January 2024, a jury of five industry subject matter experts will select four student team finalists to advance to the second round of the competition. These finalist teams will visit the site in Madison to further refine their submissions. On April 18th, 2024, the four finalist student teams will present their final projects to a jury of practitioners at HUD Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The winning team will be awarded $20,000, and the runner-up team will receive a $10,000 award. The two remaining finalist teams will each receive $5,000.

By initiating and funding this competition, HUD hopes to inspire and support aspiring members of fields such as architecture, planning, policy, and finance in advancing affordable and sustainable housing for low- and moderate-income Americans.