AARP and NAHB introduce Annual Award to promote homes and communities where all can thrive…New livable Communities Award will honor forward looking home builders, developers and remodelers

AARP CEO Bill Novelli and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Howard announce a new joint award to recognize creative and unique home and community projects that improve the daily comfort, ease and safety of their residents and highlight the critical elements needed for a livable community.

The new AARP & NAHB Livable Communities Award will be presented annually to the three professional groups -- builders, remodelers and developers—for projects that incorporate such aspects as:

       design elements that accommodate the needs of all residents with all levels of physical ability from children through grandparents;

       easy access to community services and features such as retail, restaurants, medical, social and cultural activities, as well as viable transportation options;

       improved energy efficiency and enhanced site design; and

       better communication with key stakeholders

In a speech announcing the award to the National Association of Home Builder's board of directors, Novelli celebrated the multi-generational benefits of a design for all approach to home and community development.

 "Whether you're a toddler, a teen with a backpack, a dad cooking dinner, or a great grandparent using a walker, insightful home and community design can greatly improve your day. We hope this award will give building professionals an incentive to explore and employ new design approaches."

"I expect NAHB members to respond very enthusiastically to this award, which is backed by two strong organizations," Howard said. "For those who are building a leading edge home or community, this is an opportunity to show the world that your product is the best in the business."

The Livable Communities Awards will honor winners in each of the three industry sectors: builders, developers and remodelers. Sponsors will declare winners for both a large project and small project in each category. Size will define large and small builder and developer projects. Cost will determine remodelers' categories.

Sponsors seek applicants that reflect the full diversity of the homebuilding industry: single- and multi-family builders and remodelers, developers of large and small communities, for profit and nonprofit, family run and corporate entities. Winning projects must have been completed and opened or eligible for occupancy between January 1, 2005 and June 1, 2007.

A panel of expert judges appointed by NAHB and AARP will review the applications and select the finalists. Judging criteria vary from category to category, but points will be awarded based on: 1) Universal Design Features; 2) Ease of Maintenance and Energy Efficiency; 3) Exterior Design and Landscaping/Site Design; 4) Incorporation of Livable Community Design Features; and 5) Stakeholder Involvement.

Winners will be reviewed to determine that they are good corporate citizens and in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations at the federal, state and local level.

Applications for the first Livable Communities Awards will be due June 1, 2007.

Winners will be announced in the 2008 January-February issue of AARP The Magazine, the largest circulation magazine in America. For more information on the awards or to download an application, please visit www.aarp.org/livablecommunitiesaward.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole.

We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 235,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction.

Known as "the voice of the housing industry,"

NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct 80 percent of the more than 1.56 million new housing units projected for 2007, making housing one of the largest engines of economic growth in the country.