Enterprise recently announced an exciting new collaboration with the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) as we prepare the 2020 Green Communities Criteria. At the beginning of our partnership last year, IWBI President Rachel Gutter and I met to discuss our joint efforts. On episode 11 of the Building Blocks podcast we’re talking about our goals for this collaboration, new iterations of both criteria, performance metrics, measurable impacts, authentic leadership and the rigorous classification that makes for green and healthy affordable housing.

Confronting housing affordability challenges amidst rapid growth, Atlanta has launched one of the most ambitious affordable housing plans in the country. On Episode 10 of Building Blocks, I’m joined in the studio by Terri Lee, Chief Housing Officer for the City of Atlanta, Adam Freed of Bloomberg Associates, and Enterprise’s Southeast Market Leader Meaghan Shannon-Vlkovic, to explore how the One Atlanta: Housing Affordability Action Plan is putting the city ahead of a looming crisis.

Recently, Enterprise released a nationwide survey that illustrated how housing costs are undermining the health needs of American renters, many of whom are sacrificing medical care in order to pay rent. Faced with a shortage of affordable, quality, stable housing, low-income renters often lack access to sufficient health care and outdoor spaces, further contributing to poor health outcomes, including asthma, obesity, mental health challenges, and more. On Episode 9 of the Building Blocks Podcast, Dr. Megan Sandel, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, and I discuss initiatives across our industries that are elevating resident and community health as a priority in the development and preservation of affordable housing.

Across the country, rural and urban communities are feeling the impact of the affordable housing shortage whether that’s due to aging housing stock, community displacement, gentrification, or a lack of investment. And yet, so much work still needs to be done to build public support for affordable housing policies and programs. On this episode of Building Blocks, Dr. Tiffany Manuel of CaseMade introduces her work with the FrameWorks Institute on increasing support for the housing movement through strategic messaging and helping people understand why quality, affordable housing is vital to our collective prosperity, especially in the upcoming election. Follow @DrTiffanyManuel on Twitter and learn more about her work at thecasemade.com

Enterprise Advisors, the technical assistance and consulting leg of the Enterprise network, has quickly solidified their place as an industry leader through cross-disciplinary initiatives like disaster recovery and resilience, the National Resource Network, and, most recently, Opportunity Zones. In the years following their creation, the Advisors team has expanded their framework from exclusively federal contracts to an increasingly diverse set of public and private partnerships that have elevated new ideas and standards for more equitable and inclusive communities. On Episode 7 of Building Blocks, I’m joined by Patrick Jordan, Vice President of Enterprise Advisors, to discuss the strategic opportunities created through mission-driven consulting and the impact we can expect from the team in the future.

Several themes have become clear on the island of Puerto Rico as local and national partners coordinate the delicate process of response, recovery, and reconstruction following Hurricane Maria. Meanwhile, the true impact of the storm and the resulting mass-exodus of the island’s population is still unfolding. As we approach the one-year anniversary of the vicious storm, I reached out to Enterprise experts Erika Ruiz, Director of Enterprise Advisors, and Laurie Schoeman, Senior Program Director of Resilience Initiatives, about the role Enterprise is taking to support and guide the nonprofit and government sectors through a multifaceted island wide recovery.

The Opportunity Zones Initiative has been considered an exciting, new economic development opportunity by community members and private investors alike. The uncapped tax incentive has the potential to funnel an estimated $6 trillion in unrealized capital gains into qualified low-income census tracts across the United States. However, several questions have emerged throughout the nomination process, specifically around the creation of Opportunity Funds, selecting qualified census tracts, the potential for community displacement, and who exactly stands to benefit from this economic incentive program. On episode 5 of Building Blocks, I’ve invited Enterprise’s Rachel Reilly, Director of Impact Investing, and Flora Arabo, National State and Local Policy Director, to deconstruct Opportunity Zones and explore the potential impacts.