AARP and NAHB introduce Annual Award to promote
homes and communities where all can thrive…New
livable Communities Award will honor forward looking
home builders, developers and remodelers
AARP CEO Bill Novelli and National Association of Home
Builders (NAHB) Executive Vice President and Chief
Executive Officer Jerry Howard announce a new joint
award to recognize creative and unique home and
community projects that improve the daily comfort,
ease and safety of their residents and highlight the
critical elements needed for a livable community.
The new AARP & NAHB Livable Communities Award will be
presented annually to the three professional groups
-- builders, remodelers and developers—for projects
that incorporate such aspects as:
design elements that accommodate the needs of all
residents with all levels of physical ability from
children through grandparents;
easy access to community services and features such
as retail, restaurants, medical, social and cultural
activities, as well as viable transportation
options;
improved energy efficiency and enhanced site design;
and
better communication with key stakeholders
In a speech announcing the award to the National Association
of Home Builder's board of directors, Novelli
celebrated the multi-generational benefits of a
design for all approach to home and community
development.
"Whether you're a toddler, a teen with a backpack, a
dad cooking dinner, or a great grandparent using a
walker, insightful home and community design can
greatly improve your day. We hope this award will
give building professionals an incentive to explore
and employ new design approaches."
"I expect NAHB members to respond very enthusiastically to
this award, which is backed by two strong
organizations," Howard said. "For those who are
building a leading edge home or community, this is
an opportunity to show the world that your product
is the best in the business."
The Livable Communities Awards will honor winners in each of
the three industry sectors: builders, developers and
remodelers. Sponsors will declare winners for both a
large project and small project in each category.
Size will define large and small builder and
developer projects. Cost will determine remodelers'
categories.
Sponsors seek applicants that reflect the full diversity of
the homebuilding industry: single- and multi-family
builders and remodelers, developers of large and
small communities, for profit and nonprofit, family
run and corporate entities. Winning projects must
have been completed and opened or eligible for
occupancy between January 1, 2005 and June 1, 2007.
A panel of expert judges appointed by NAHB and AARP will
review the applications and select the finalists.
Judging criteria vary from category to category, but
points will be awarded based on: 1) Universal Design
Features; 2) Ease of Maintenance and Energy
Efficiency; 3) Exterior Design and Landscaping/Site
Design; 4) Incorporation of Livable Community Design
Features; and 5) Stakeholder Involvement.
Winners will be reviewed to determine that they are good
corporate citizens and in full compliance with all
applicable laws and regulations at the federal,
state and local level.
Applications for the first Livable Communities Awards will be
due June 1, 2007.
Winners will be announced in the 2008 January-February issue
of AARP The Magazine, the largest circulation
magazine in America. For more information on the
awards or to download an application, please visit
www.aarp.org/livablecommunitiesaward.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that
helps people 50+ have independence, choice and
control in ways that are beneficial and affordable
to them and society as a whole.
We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP
Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda
Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and
English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter
for 50+ educators; and our website,
AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated
charity that provides security, protection, and
empowerment to older persons in need with support
from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors.
We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
The National Association of Home Builders is a
Washington-based trade association representing more
than 235,000 members involved in home building,
remodeling, multifamily construction, property
management, subcontracting, design, housing finance,
building product manufacturing and other aspects of
residential and light commercial construction.
Known as "the voice of the housing industry,"
NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home
builders associations around the country. NAHB's
builder members will construct 80 percent of the
more than 1.56 million new housing units projected
for 2007, making housing one of the largest engines
of economic growth in the country.