AI-Supported Community Design Grant Brief

Rouben Mohiuddin is publicly positioned as the founder of Design SI and a CSU Chico Professor of Interior Architecture, with decades of professional design and teaching experience. His background connects sustainable design practice, student learning, and community-focused work.

The strongest local proof point is the Camp Fire recovery work. Rebuild Paradise and Chico State coverage document CSU Chico Interior Architecture, Rouben, Design SI, and partners supporting community listening, plan development, and permit-ready rebuilding resources for Paradise-area residents.

A CSU Chico and Design SI-led community design lab that uses responsible AI, student studios, professional supervision, and civic partners to accelerate resilient, affordable, age-friendly, and housing-stable rebuilding.

Fire resilience

Home hardening, defensible-space education, smoke readiness, evacuation support, and resident-facing design packets.

Aging in place

Accessible home modification templates, ADU and multigenerational options, mobility audits, and safer retrofit plans.

Homelessness

Supportive housing concepts, adaptive reuse visuals, service-adjacent layouts, and community engagement materials.

AI workforce

Responsible AI training for design students, civic partners, nonprofits, and local construction/design collaborators.

Priority	Opportunity	Timing / size	Fit and recommended approach
1	OpenAI Foundation People-First AI Fund	Applications reopen June 15, 2026; new $50M commitment.	Pitch a people-first AI design education and resilience pilot focused on practical community outcomes.
2	OpenAI Foundation Economic Futures in the Age of AI	$250M initial commitment; first initiatives expected later in 2026.	Frame as a regional workforce and economic-transition pilot for AI in design, construction, planning, and civic service delivery.
3	CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Grants	Up to $70M statewide; applications due July 8, 2026.	Use a public agency, Fire Safe Council, nonprofit, or tribal lead. Fit: community education, evacuation readiness, defensible space, chipping days, and resident design guidance.
4	FEMA BRIC	$1B national; closes July 23, 2026; match required.	Large mitigation projects should be led by Butte County, Paradise, Chico, or the state. CSU/Design SI support planning and engagement.
5	California DR-INF/MIT-RIP	Applications due July 10, 2026.	For disaster-impacted local governments rebuilding infrastructure with wildfire, flood, and earthquake mitigation.
6	Homekey+	$2.2B program; rolling review; $1B+ still available in May 2026.	Support permanent supportive housing applications with adaptive reuse, modular layouts, and service design concepts.
7	HUD CoC / YHDP	Applications due August 26, 2026.	Work through the local Continuum of Care. Fit: supportive housing, youth homelessness, service navigation, and evaluation.
8	North Valley Community Foundation Camp Fire Fund	Annual cycle reopens November 2026; special inquiries possible.	Best local seed funding for Paradise/Camp Fire demonstrations, community workshops, prototype plan sets, and resident design clinics.
9	AARP Community Challenge	2026 cycle closed March 4; plan for 2027.	Strong for aging-in-place, disaster preparedness, home modification, and housing choice demonstrations.
10	NSF Civic Innovation Challenge / Smart and Connected Communities	Research-action programs; monitor active cycles.	Good for rigorous community-university pilots using AI, data, and design to improve resilience, housing, public health, or services.

How to win

Lead with community outcomes, not AI.

The fundable problem is not students using AI. The fundable problem is slow, expensive rebuilding; unsafe homes for older residents; recurring wildfire and smoke risk; and housing instability that requires faster, more trusted planning pathways.

Build the applicant coalition. CSU Chico leads education/research grants; public agencies lead FEMA/HCD work; CoC and service providers lead homelessness programs.
Use AI as a capacity multiplier. Focus on faster research, clearer options, better visualization, multilingual materials, and measurable decision support.
Package three lanes. Fast pilot grants, applied public programs, and larger capital/infrastructure funding should each have different leads and deliverables.
Measure what matters. Track residents served, plans produced, workshops held, partner applications supported, dollars leveraged, time saved, and projects advanced.

AI Resilient Rebuild Studio

Community-vetted plan variants for fire-resilient, insurable, accessible homes and ADUs.

Paradise Aging-in-Place + Fire Hardening Clinics

Home safety audits, smoke-readiness upgrades, defensible-space education, and prioritized retrofit plans.

Supportive Housing Rapid Concept Lab

Adaptive reuse concepts, modular layouts, service adjacency plans, and public meeting visuals.

North State AI Workforce Pathway

A responsible-AI training pathway for students, agencies, nonprofits, designers, and construction partners.

Cleaner Air + Resilience Hubs

Community-serving building assessments for wildfire smoke, heat readiness, filtration, and operations.

Design SI - Rouben Mohiuddin CSU Chico Campus Directory - Rouben Mohiuddin Rebuild Paradise - CSU / Design SI / Rancho Engineering Chico State Helps Rebuild Communities CSU Chico Interior Architecture Program OpenAI Foundation - Economic Futures in the Age of AI OpenAI Foundation - People-First AI Fund Update OpenAI Foundation - Resilience in the Age of AI CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Grants announcement FEMA BRIC FY 2024 and 2025 US Forest Service Community Wildfire Defense Grant EPA Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings California HCD DR-INF/MIT-RIP California HCD Homekey+ HCD Homekey+ May 2026 Awards HUD FY 2026 CoC and YHDP NOFO California HCD HHAP Program AARP 2026 Community Challenge North Valley Community Foundation Camp Fire Fund California SGC Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities NSF Civic Innovation Challenge NSF Smart and Connected Communities Patrick J. McGovern Foundation grants Google.org AI for Government Innovation data.org Activate AI Economic Opportunity Challenge

AI-supported community design for resilient Northern California communities

Rouben brings the unusual combination funders want: practice, teaching, and local recovery work.

North State Resilient Living Lab