JOIN RDAC FOR A CONVERSATION ON EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES AND A NEW URBAN AGENDA WITH PHIL BONA, FAIA

In today’s world, our communities | cities | regions are facing unprecedented challenges - the impacts of a global climate crisis, critical infrastructure deteriorating from neglect, and political instability. In the midst of these rapidly changing environmental, political, and physical conditions, AIA seeks to empower its members. Our collective voice is essential for designing a better future.

AIA is creating and identifying resources that better position the architecture profession to take on complex, interconnected issues like health, equity, sustainability, and resilience. At a global scale, these issues may be seen through the lens of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

“Architects and designers are part of a complex system; it is essential for practitioners to acknowledge the role the profession has played in perpetuating inequity in the built environment...”

Philip J. Bona, FAIA

has enjoyed a diverse career spanning more than four decades as an architect,  planner, educator, and futurist. He has received multiple Fellowships and Honors from the American Institute of Architects, nationally, in California, in the San Francisco Bay  Area, and in San Diego. He is noted for his work in sustainable building design, legislative  advocacy on behalf of design of the built environs, innovative affordable housing, and mentoring.

Mr. Bona worked for a variety of organizations and architectural/planning firms, including  CCDC and the San Diego Redevelopment Agency, the San Diego Community College District,  AVRP, and BNIM.

Currently semi-retired, Phil serves as a technical consultant to architecture firms. Many of his projects have received national, state, and local design awards. In 2017, he was acknowledged as One of the City of San Diego’s 50 Most Influential People. 

Mr. Bona initiated his Housing the Next 1 Million (HN1M) community campaign in the Bay Area in the year 2000, exploring the employment and housing growth needs of the Silicon Valley during  the first dot com boom. In 2017, he reignited the HN1M effort here in San Diego County.