The AIA has created a page on its website as a central resource for architects trying to find their way through the ongoing economic downturn. "Navigating the Economy" (www.aia.org/navigatingeconomy) contains articles, third-party links, and weekly podcasts with information on how to deal with the credit crisis and how firms can stay afloat in trying times. The webpage—compiled by the organization's marketing and communications team at the behest of CEO Christine McEntee and other members of AIA's leadership—was launched on the heels of the economic stimulus package passed by the U.S. Congress and at a time, says AIA spokesman Scott Frank, when "the downturn was affecting the overall economy as well as the design industry. It was getting pretty bleak." The page will stay online indefinitely, certainly as long as the organization feels it will benefit members. "[The economic situation] might get even worse," notes Frank. "Housing is obviously very bad, and commercial is following, but if the institutional market indeed begins to suffer as well, people who have been largely insulated from this downturn will begin to feel the crunch."
