CEQA-Housing [CEQA-H] proposes a planning and design process for affordable housing that repositions architectural and procedural design at the center of environmental review. It proclaims that inserting affordable housing into existing urban contexts creates environmental and social benefits and counters potential local resistance through direct community participation, community stakeholdership, incremental transformation and implementation, and the provision of public services and spaces. By shifting environmental accountability from discretionary review to measurable performance in participation and design, CEQA-H thus seeks to promote affordable housing production by incorporating, rather than alienating, existing communities. CEQA-H operates through an architectural, competition-based process, which enforces CEQA-H guidelines to be included in the proposals. Among other things, projects must use flexible operational and construction models to fulfill CEQA-H’s core mission to allow for periodic community review, future phasing, improvements, and updates. Employing a subscription-based rental system and modular construction, this project is a first attempt at such a proposal in California.
