National Architecture Week, which this year falls on April 13-19, was created to encourage a public dialogue about architecture.
Such conversations are especially pressing as communities across America discuss how best to invest the funds of the Economic Recovery Act.
To accommodate this urgency, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) is using social media to open and foster greater participation by the public and AIA members to employ design thinking to transform today's challenges into tomorrow's opportunities.
The AIA Facebook group page will be used to provide a broad range of knowledge resources from the National component.
However, state and local components, individual members, and the public are likewise being encouraged to import material to the site.
This could include information about design awards, videos, or local advocacy and public outreach initiatives.
The goal is to enable, not control, conversations that will identify opportunities to apply the skills of the architecture profession to the particular needs of individual communities.