Enterprise and IWBI Develop Certification for Affordable, Health Conscious Housing
The collaboration will leverage a platform that advocates for the availability and quality of green, healthy, affordable homes.
NEW YORK CITY– Enterprise Community Partners Inc., a housing non-profit and International WELL Building Institute, a wellness platform, have teamed up to develop affordable housing with health and wellness offerings in mind.
The collaboration will leverage Enterprise, a platform that advocates for more high-quality, green, healthy and affordable homes nationwide. In addition, Enterprise and IWBI will conduct research to advance public policy aimed at the improvement of housing options across various economic classes.
Enterprise will create a certification pathway within its Green Communities Criteria to make well-designed homes affordable, along with the corresponding health outcomes for low- and moderate-income communities.
With the information garnered and accessible, affordable housing developers can access a roadmap for achieving higher levels of health and wellness benefits. Starting next year, affordable housing that meets Enterprise’s Green Communities 2020 Criteria can receive a ‘WELL’ certification.
“We couldn’t be more excited about this collaboration with Enterprise,” said IWBI President Rachel Gutter, in a prepared statement. “Now with the criteria integration complete, the next step is to identify projects we can jointly support and certify to showcase the myriad benefits to residents as well as the short and long-term cost effectiveness of putting people’s health at the center of the decisions for designing, building and operating the places where they live their lives.”