The Bem Morar Program (Living Well Program), a project of the Ateliê de Ideias Association (Ideas Workshop Association), is among the 11 finalists of the Ashoka Changemakers Global Challenge with the theme “Sustainable Urban Housing: Collaborating for Liveable and Inclusive Cities.” The Ateliê de Ideias Association was a 2006 BrazilFoundation grantee.
The Changemakers Global Challenge seeks to inspire innovations that address the lack of adequate and inclusive housing, and pioneer energy-efficient and sustainable models for housing design, construction, land use, community planning, creative housing finance, community involvement, and public policy. The competition is being launched in anticipation of the 2012 Summit of the Americas, and in support of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Energy and Climate Partnership for the Americas (ECPA). It is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, and is a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of State, and the American Planning Association.
The three entries that receive the most votes will each earn a prize of US $10,000 and will be presented at the competition’s closing event in June 2011, in Washington, DC.
The Bem Morar (“Live Well”) program is an integrated package of services and technologies to facilitate low-income families and communities the access to housing. It combines housing credit, technical assistance and the production and dissemination of methodologies, materials and solutions for sustainable construction. The credit is provided by a community bank (Banco Bem, or “the Good Bank,” in Vitória). Families are advised on their building projects’ budgets and architectural designs, with regard to the application of environmentally friendly solutions such as eco-bricks, solar heating and wastewater recycling systems.
Public voting to the three winners ends on April 6, 2011.
To vote for the Bem Morar Program click here:
