How A Global Collaborative Is Redefining Housing To Serve Real Lives With Elizabeth Glenn (USA)

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What if housing could heal disconnection and build dignity at scale? We sit down with community catalyst Elizabeth Glenn to explore how the US–Africa Collaborative is uniting planners, doctors, architects, engineers, builders, financiers and educators to design human‑centred places that actually work for the people who live in them. This is a story of moving from silos to systems, and from projects to relationships that last.

Elizabeth Glenn traces her path from county government to global bridge‑builder and lays out a practical model for “smart villages” powered by culture, safety and care rather than gadgets. We talk about monthly knowledge‑exchange sessions, a Pan‑African City Symposium that blends research with practice, and a publishing pipeline that spreads lessons across continents. The Women’s Leadership Forum shows how circular, multi‑generational mentorship brings real‑world insights into design, while the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Smart Villages and Human Settlements supports communities and governments with planning, finance and implementation.

We also tackle identity and belonging. The African diaspora spans the Americas, Europe, Asia and beyond, yet shared history is often buried under stereotypes and colonial aftershocks. Through Diaspora Dialogues, the collaborative opens space for reconciliation and partnership, aiming to unlock the diaspora’s vast economic power to fund inclusive housing and local enterprise. And with the new Homegrown Habitat International Design Competition, teams are challenged to design from the ground up, using local wisdom to create safe, walkable, resilient neighbourhoods where families can age in place and children thrive.

If you care about equitable housing, community health, women’s leadership, diaspora connection and practical urban innovation, this conversation offers clear on‑ramps and real hope. Subscribe, share with a friend who works in housing or public health, and leave a review to help more people find these ideas. Then visit usafricacollaborative.org to join the work.

Music, lyrics, guitar and singing by Dr Ariel Rosita King

Teach me to live one day at a time
with courage love and a sense of pride.
Giving me the ability to love and accept myself
so I can go and give it to someone else.
Teach me to live one day at a time.....

The Business of Life
Dr Ariella (Ariel) Rosita King
Original Song, "Teach Me to Live one Day At A Time"
written, guitar and vocals by Dr. Ariel Rosita King

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