Over 60 students from four of Lehigh’s colleges have participated in research, civic processes, and construction. They surveyed alleys, mapped conditions, navigated zoning variances with city officials, and learned from experienced affordable housing developers how to design and construct Alley House units for long-term affordability.
In the spring of 2024, an interdisciplinary Alley House Program course, enrolling twelve students from across academic majors, split into four working groups: Policy, Design, Finance, and Public History. Students developed a database of accessory dwelling unit (ADU) policy across the country, created preliminary models for pilot alley house units, calculated potential costs of financing the alley house, and spoke directly to residents about their experiences living in existing alley houses in Bethlehem. At the end of the course, students combined their research into ten case study cities, with similar sizes and characteristics to Bethlehem, to inform the implementation of the Program’s pilot units and amendments to Bethlehem’s zoning ordinance.
Spotlight Recipient