Cal Poly’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design will join a national effort of the American Institute of Architects Foundation and the American Institute of Architects to design studios dedicated to helping communities become better prepared for natural disasters and climate change.

“The NRI studios represent the six regional areas of need for resilience planning within the 10 federal regions designated as at-risk for the effects of disaster by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” said Architects Foundation Executive Director, Sherry-Lea Bloodworth Botop.

The National Resilience Initiative was established in 2013 as a joint program of the AIA and the Foundation with partners that include the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Association for Collegiate Schools of Architecture, and Public Architecture.