For decades, developers, municipalities and supporting organizations have worked toward finding a lasting solution to the shortage of affordable housing in the U.S., and Taylor Johnson client Baker Barrios Architects has been part of that conversation for the past 30 years. Harnessing the firm’s perspective from the architecture and master-planning side of the issue, Baker Barrios leadership developed its own proprietary and holistic approach: THRIVE. While the “cradle-to-career” method, which focuses on providing essential community services in a centralized location to ensure easy access for residents, has been in practice for years, Baker Barrios CEO Tim Baker worked with his team to formalize it with THRIVE, creating a step-by-step program for engaging stakeholders, designing, building and, most importantly, sustaining affordable communities. This approach caught the attention of editors at Urban Land magazine when the TJ team suggested a thought leadership piece from Baker. The resulting article shares the history of THRIVE and the success stories that are emerging from it today.
