A July 2006 study sheds light on a major facet of community disinvestment in Chicago’s African-American communities: the lack of grocery stores. The study examines the phenomenon of “food deserts,” described as “communities with little or no access to grocery stores and quality, nutritious food choices.” Roughly one in six Chicago residents lives in a food desert. The Food Desert Caravan is a proposal by Architecture for Humanity-Chicago and consortium of partners for a mobile food store, built in a retrofitted city transit bus, to restore urban food access. Join the conceptual design charrette Saturday, December 5th, at the MacArthur Foundation (140 S. Dearborn, Suite 1700) from 8am-12pm.

Currently the majority of our projects are educational facilities. In the next 12 months schools and youth centers will be built in a dozen countries, allowing thousands of youth access to education and allowing them to better their own lives. With a core team in place at Architecture for Humanity the potential for impact is unlimited.

So we have partnered with Paypal to make giving simple and fun this season - a $20 donation = 1 linear ft of classroom. The more that is donated, the more schools will be built. Find out more here and direct your funds to building better schools for all.

The second part of Samsung's Wow Challenge has been announced, and presents a new opportunity to use your creativity to help Architecture for Humanity win $20,000 for school construction and other humanitarian architecture projects.

The the theme of the second challenge is to "express yourself with color" by uploading photos of yourself against a colorful backdrop, and use the resulting library of photos contributed by the teams to create a pixelated work of art.

Challenge #1 is drawing to a close and Architecture for Humanity is in the lead with 69% of the votes! Thank you to all who submitted the awesome shadow pictures and voted. For those of you that want to get involved, it's not too late. Join team Architecture for Humanity. Also, stay tuned for Ze's announcement of Challenge #2 tomorrow (can't wait to hear what he has up his sleeve). Funds raised will be used to improve schools around the world.

A bold and ambitious public works plan for the Colombian city of Medellín that helped revitalize its poorest neighborhoods and transform what was considered the deadliest city in the world into a vibrant, urban hub is the winner of the 2009 Curry Stone Design Prize. The winner and finalists were recognized at the IdeaFestival in Louisville, Kentucky - view the ceremony online.