Tucson, AZ — In September 2023, the Arizona Research Center for Housing and Economic Solutions (ARCHES) was established to provide rigorous, evidence-based research on housing security, climate resilience, housing’s impact on health, and other housing-related challenges.  

ARCHES is led by Arizona State University (ASU) and co-located at the U of A Drachman Institute for the Built Environment and ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy. The center brings together more than 20 researchers from these universities, Northern Arizona University, and the University of New Mexico. The center includes experts from the fields of planning, policy, architecture, geography, political science, economics, and real estate.

“Housing is by nature transdisciplinary,” says Kenny H. Wong, U of A co-director of ARCHES. The name ARCHES, he says, reflects the center’s connective purposes, including bringing together Arizona’s three public universities, uniting disciplines, and bridging academic capabilities and community realities to address the complex questions implicit in housing.

Daniel Kuhlmann, co-principal investigator at the U of A, said ARCHES is shaping a network for scholars to share their work with one another and the broader Southwest community. “The grant is funding 20 academic research projects and provides resources to build a communications infrastructure that tells the story of housing in the Southwest,” he said.

Kuhlmann identifies supporting students as a forward-thinking aspect of building ARCHES. Last year, three urban planning graduate students were funded, and many of the funded projects involve graduate researchers. “These students will soon be out in the workforce and positioned to contribute to our network.”

“ARCHES is an open door for practitioners and policymakers to see what we academics are working on. . . . They find out the university has important things to share, and they inform our ongoing research.” — Kenny H. Wong

Beyond research, the center engages housing professionals serving as a bridge between the university and practice. “ARCHES is an open door for practitioners and policymakers to see what we academics are working on,” said Wong. “They find out the university has important things to share, and they inform our ongoing research.” The center recently published its second edition of the State of Arizona Housing Report, which he says was well received by practitioners and policymakers alike. Another opportunity to connect will be in September, when ARCHES hosts two sessions at the American Planning Association (APA) Arizona State Planning Conference.

Kuhlmann says the center’s public events, such as panels and documentary screenings, also receive positive feedback. “One event, a showing of a new documentary on the U.S. housing crisis (Fault Lines), attracted about 200 attendees and sparked great dialogue among researchers, practitioners, nonprofit leaders, and government staff,” he said.

ARCHES is guided by an eight-member community advisory board that helps shape responsive research agendas. “These connections keep us close to the workings of city government and help get our reports and research in front of decision-makers,” Wong said, adding that community collaboration begets new collaborations: ASU principal investigator Deirdre Pfeiffer has advised the Phoenix mayor’s office; and ASU co-director Alison Cook-Davis is partnering with Terner Labs to conduct housing policy simulations for both Phoenix and Tucson.

 ARCHES addresses a Southwest-shaped gap in housing research.

Kuhlmann adds that ARCHES addresses a Southwest-shaped gap in housing research, which has relied on well-established centers on the nation’s coasts. “We have a lot to contribute as issues endemic to the Southwest grow in national priority,” he says. He highlights ARCHES researchers’ expertise in addressing extreme heat and the distinct housing experiences of Hispanic communities.

Valuable as ARCHES is, Kuhlmann and Wong are well aware its future depends on securing sustained funding. “Funding for housing research has always been difficult,” Kuhlmann says, “but we’re optimistic.”