10 Bold Ideas Tackling Housing Affordability And Access Now
[A note from editor John McManus]
Every so often, news in housing breaks through the noise.
Not the headlines about rate cuts, tariffs, or inflation. Not the politics of the moment. But the real story — the one that doesn’t change with the news cycle: America has a housing problem. It’s been building for decades. It’s not cyclical. It’s structural. And it’s not going away on its own.
The hard part is, it’s not one problem. It’s many — affordability, labor, climate risk, material costs, zoning gridlock, the next generation of talent and applied skills. Try to fix one, and you risk making another worse. That’s what makes this so tough—and why so many in housing have quietly resigned themselves to the idea that nothing can be done.
But that’s not true. And we know it’s not true because each year, the Ivory Prize reminds us of something essential: bold ideas, tested in real communities, are moving the needle. Not at the margins. But in ways that, if scaled and supported, could reshape the future.
It’s a privilege to introduce our newest team member at The Builder’s Daily, Abigail Ali, whose first story spotlights the 2025 Ivory Prize Top 10 honorees. Abigail joins us with a sharp eye for innovation, a deep interest in housing equity, and a belief that smart solutions should get the recognition—and backing—they deserve.
Her report begins below. – JM
Ivory Innovations has named its top 10 finalists for the 2025 Ivory Prize competition. The competition acknowledges bold innovations in three categories: construction and design, finance, and policy and reform.
The Ivory Prize celebrates US-based organizations’ bold ideas that benefit housing affordability. The winner of each category receives $100,000 to support the continuation of their work.
A nonprofit based out of the University of Utah’s Eccles School of Business, Ivory Innovations develops housing units across Utah, hosts events nationally, and holds competitions, including Hack-A-House for college students and Ivory Prize.
The top 10 innovators of this year’s Ivory Prize competition by category are as follows:
Construction & Design
Incremental Development Alliance is a nonprofit that trains developers, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders on how to support small-scale, missing middle builds across their cities. Its focus is on providing locals with tools they can use moving forward for change that lasts.
Reframe Systems uses AI and volumetric models to quickly build climate-resilient homes, focusing on missing middle housing in urban infill areas. It utilizes advanced robotics and microfactories to produce homes efficiently.
Gensler’s Conversions+ created an algorithm to determine whether underused office buildings can be converted into residential housing spaces. Assessments provide conclusions about a building’s viability for conversion in a matter of days, and aim for cost-efficient, quick, and sustainable development.
Lower Sioux Indian Community’s Hempcrete Program uses hemp to make strong, affordable, and sustainable building materials. Hempcrete blocks are zero-waste, provide quality insulation, and are fully customizable to a project’s needs.
Finance
Grounded Solutions Network’s Homes For the Future initiative creates wealth-building opportunities within Black and Brown communities by placing homes into shared equity portfolios. This allows owners to benefit from home appreciation without reliance on public subsidies.
Housing Accelerator Fund’s Industrialized Construction Catalyst Fund provides early-stage capital to affordable housing developers using industrialized construction, allowing them to keep up with market demand. The loans mainly cover soft costs like engineering, project design, and pre-construction material deposits.
FutureProof helps homeowners living in climate-sensitive areas qualify for insurance using machine learning and AI systems to provide insurance companies with pricing figures based on property resilience. This means better prices for policyholders and less risk for insurers.
Policy & Reform
The City of Muskegon is using Brownfield tax increment financing (TIF) to invest in infill development. This allows houses to be sold at a low rate without homebuilders losing money, as they can earn back any losses over time through tax capture by the Brownfield authority.
Los Angeles County and UCLA’s AI Homelessness Prevention Program uses predictive data to identify individuals and families at risk of homelessness. The program then provides them with housing support via case workers, financial assistance, and wraparound services.
State of Florida and Florida Housing Coalition’s Live Local Act opens commercial, industrial and mixed-use zones across the state to affordable multi-family and mixed-use development. Intended to support Florida’s workforce, the act introduces new incentives and programs to help local governments, nonprofits and other entities implement the act.