AIA SDAT Process 2009
Professionals providing community service
The AIA SDAT is organized by the AIA Center for Communities by Design, based in Washington, DC. “The SDAT is a community assistance program that focuses on the principles of sustainability. SDATs bring teams of volunteer professionals (such as architects, urban designers, landscape architects, planners, hydrologists, economists, attorneys, and others) to work with community decision-makers and stakeholders to help them develop a vision and framework for a sustainable future.”
“The SDAT program is based on the AIA’s goal of helping communities create a sustainable relationship between humans, the natural environment, and place. By achieving balance between cultural, environmental, and economic systems, communities can sustain a place as a stage for human settlement.” For more information, click here.
The AIA is the “leading professional membership association for licensed architects, emerging professionals, and allied partners.” For more information on the Los Angeles Chapter of the AIA, please go to www.aialosangeles.com.
How the grant works
The greatest challenge our Neighborhood Council faced was the City of Los Angeles approval process on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) or agreement with the AIA. After eight months of negotiation, the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) approved the revised agreement and DLANC was able to begin the SDAT process in late August 2009.
During the eight month period we awaited approval, the DLANC Sustainability Committee created a subgroup to discuss the SDAT and plan for the upcoming visit. Over a series of meetings, we brainstormed priorities, places to visit, potential partners, and other ideas for this exciting opportunity. One community member and professional community planner, Veronica Siranosian, AICP, volunteered to lead the project organization and report to the Committee.
The Preliminary SDAT Visit
In early September 2009, SDAT Project Team Lead Walter Sedovic, FAIA of New York visited Downtown Los Angeles with Center for Communities by Design staff Erin Simmons and Joel Mills to meet with DLANC Sustainability Committee Chair Ashley Z. Hand, LEED AP, Assoc. AIA (previously Ashley Zarella) and Project Lead Veronica Siranosian, AICP.
A tour of the neighborhood and introduction to several stakeholders provided a broad look at the many people and interests in this relatively small neighborhood. Over the day and a half visit, the preliminary SDAT team walked from South Park to Civic Center to Skid Row, rode the Metro and DASH, and even drove into the LA River. The goal was to introduce the team to the diversity within our neighborhood so they could build a team of professionals who would return to study our project area.
Planning for the SDAT Visit
The DLANC Committee and Project Lead co-hosted two conference calls with the SDAT Project Team Lead and AIA Center for Communities by Design staff following the preliminary to discuss the SDAT scope and appropriate professionals to address some of the questions from the DLANC Sustainability Committee.
Community members had previously discussed the importance of connectivity and making a more walkable neighborhood – we felt that the cultural and community assets were often disjointed and set too far apart from each other. We wanted to understand how our neighborhood council could help facilitate a transformation of our surroundings for a more livable environment.
