Tucson architect and Pima County Housing Commission member advocates for better zoning and increased funding for small scale development

TUCSON, Ariz. - July 8, 2020 - PRLog -- On Friday, July 10, 2020, starting at 9 a.m., Zach Yentzer of 1030 KVOI AM Radio's "Tipping Point" will host his third in a series of interviews dedicated to the ecosystem of doers in southern Arizona building up neighborhoods incrementally with small buildings. Yentzer's July guest is Sharayah Jimenez, a local Tucson architect and board member of the Pima County Housing Commission.

Jimenez will discuss how design and architecture can help solve some of the significant issues that Tucson and many other cities across the country are facing today socially and culturally. She'll highlight the need for affordable housing and describe the types of housing and building stock that are lacking. Possible solutions, including better zoning and increased funding to allow for small scale development, will also be outlined.

To listen online, click here. To call in a question, dial 520-790-2040.

Jimenez serves on the Tucson Small Scale Development Coalition. The Coalition and the Minneapolis-based Incremental Development Alliance are organizing a workshop on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 to train disparate professions on how to become developers of small buildings and neighborhood-friendly improvements as an alternative to large corporate models that otherwise reinforce the negative perceptions of real estate development.

For more information about the Tucson Small Scale Development Coalition and Incremental Development Workshop, click here.

Sharayah Jimenez is a 4th generation Tucsonense, with roots in El Hoyo, Barrio Blue Moon, and the South Side; she currently resides in South Central Tucson. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Architecture from the College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA) at the University of Arizona in 2009. It is there that she first began to develop her interest in community development that is based in both social and environmental justice. She first began working with neighborhoods as part of the Drachman Institute, headed by Corky Poster at the time. This relationship would continue when she joined Corky Poster's private practice, Poster Mirto McDonald (PMM) in 2011. With nearly a decade of experience behind her in planning, historic preservation and affordable housing development, Sharayah now works as an independent contractor at her own practice, CUADRO LLC. She also sits on the Pima County Housing Commission, and was appointed by the late and great, Richard Elias. She hopes to become part of the next generation of local architects, engineers, developers, builders, and civic leaders that work towards the creation of affordable, local, place-based, sustainable solutions to the housing crisis.