The Affordable Housing Curriculum
1. Town Facts
Whether riding or volunteering for one day or eighty days, Bike & Build participants research the towns and cities through which they’ll ride in order to provide context for the trip. They’ll learn about housing-specific movements and work, while also highlighting the quirks and fun facts in communities large and small.
- Community Rides
- Hubs
- Cross Country
- Regional
- VAAP
- Hubs
- Cross Country
- Regional
- VAAP
2. The Foundation
Bike & Build shares five resources with Participants to provide the context necessary to understand the affordable housing crisis today. These resources (watch, listen, read) introduce terms and concepts relevant to their Bike & Build experience such as “redlining,” “fair market rent,” “housing first,” and others.
3. Interviews
To further contextualize the cause, participants conduct interviews of affordable housing affiliates in their communities prior to their participation in a Bike & Build event. These affiliates could include leaders of local housing nonprofits; government leaders advocating for affordable housing; Community Development Corporations; or others.
- Hubs
- Cross Country
- Regional
- VAAP
- Hubs
- Cross Country
- Regional
- VAAP
4. Small Group Discussions
Understanding all there is to know about affordable housing is no simple task. To help participants start to grasp the issue, they will participate in weekly discussion groups for 6-8 weeks. Each person will take turns in their small groups facilitating discussions with teammates around the multifaceted issue that is affordable housing.
Weeks 1-2: Groups will discuss the history of affordable housing in the United States, the discriminatory practices that created housing inequities along racial lines, and policies in the US that influenced where housing is today.
Weeks 3-4: From there, groups will learn about how housing issues vary across the US; how urban affordable housing differs from rural affordable housing; and what kinds of programs and policies exist to provide housing in these areas.
Weeks 5-6: Groups will then look at the intersectionality of affordable housing with other social justice issues, including LGBTQ+ rights, disability rights, transportation equity, sustainability, and others.
Weeks 7-8: To close out the curriculum, groups will take a more focused look on affordable housing in their communities and who is taking action at a political, nonprofit, and community organizing level.
5. Sweat Equity
The final piece to the Affordable Housing Curriculum is direct service. Participants will spend 15+ hours volunteering with an affordable housing organization in their community prior to their program, gaining insight into the work being done by organizations locally.
- Hubs
- Cross Country
- Regional
