Micro-Entrepreneurship

Can we design community engagement? Project Row Houses is a neighborhood based nonprofit art and cultural organization working on grassroots development in Houston’s 3rd ward.

Advocacy
Community Development

52 | A Vision for the Future

How do we democratize design? Dr. Silver of the Centre for Vision in the Developing World shares how his groundbreaking design for self-adjusting glasses can address a serious lack of optometrists in the developing world.

Healthcare

Asiye eTafuleni

Can design reclaim public space? Asiye eTafuleni is a South African NGO set up to support informal traders, market vendors, and others who use public space in their work.

Community Development

Auroville Earth Institute

Can traditional building techniques serve modern needs? Auroville Earth Institute leads in the research and implementation of earth-based & sustainable building. Their work inspires groups all over the world to take up the practice of sustainable building.

Community Development
Environment

Barefoot College

Can the rural poor attain self-sufficiency through design? The Barefoot College is a groundbreaking Indian social organization with an international reach. It supports the rural poor, especially women, in attaining self-sufficiency by tapping their wisdom, skills and resourcefulness.

Community Development

Centre for Vision in the Developing World

Can design overcome an optometrist shortage in the developing world? Lack of access to eye care professionals is a serious problem in the developing world. Dr. Joshua Silver designed inexpensive eyeglasses that can be self-adjusted to the correct prescription.

Healthcare

Echeverri & Fajardo

2009 Prize Winner

Can improving the built environment in impoverished neighborhoods transform a city? Fajardo and Echeverri implemented a bold program in Medellín. By training architects to build parks and public buildings in impoverished neighborhoods, Medellin was transformed from “world’s deadliest city” into a vibrant, livable place.

Advocacy
Community Development
Urban Strategies

Ishinomaki 2.0

How can a disaster be a catalyst for new visions? After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed their home, the founders of Ishinomaki 2.0 came together with the goal of rebuilding humble Ishinomaki into the ‘most interesting city in the world’.

Advocacy
Urban Strategies

Liter of Light

2012 Prize Winner

Can a plastic bottle bring light where electricity is scarce? Philippines based Liter of light is a global, open-source, grassroots movement committed to providing affordable, sustainable light to people with limited or no access to electricity.

Community Development

Maya Pedal

2010 Prize Winner

Can bicycles power essential tasks and support microbusinesses? In rural Guatemala, energy sources are scarce. Maya Pedal repurposes donated bicycles into pedal-powered machines that can blend food, grind corn and lift water from wells, without requiring electricity.

Community Development

Project Row Houses

Can artists create solutions instead of just social commentary? Located in Houston’s Northern Third Ward, Project Row Houses believes artists can catalyze social change and that art community are integrally linked– neither is viable without the other.

Advocacy
Community Development
Housing

Proximity Designs

2013 Prize Winner

Can design help raise the income of small hold farmers in Myanmar? Proximity Designs is a sustainable development group that works to improve the lives of the rural poor in Myanmar.

Community Development

Sanergy

Can waste management create jobs and improve hygiene? Launched in Nairobi’s slums, Sanergy is a business and sanitation initiative. Low-cost pay toilets are run by locals as a business. Waste is processed into fertilizer and sold to commercial farms.

Community Development
Environment

SPARC

2016 Prize Winner

Vision Award Recipient

What can slum dwellers teach design professionals? SPARC organizes, legitimizes and advocates for India’s urban poor, seeking improved living conditions and advancements in rights. SPARC believes that with structural support, the urban poor can make their destinies.

Advocacy
Community Development

Sustainable Health Enterprises {SHE}

2010 Prize Winner