Iranian of the Day

USA Today: Anderson M.B.A. student Shahrouz Golshani, 34, has an ambitious goal: to build 1,000 homes for the homeless.

"I have been called naive many times this year," he conceded. But considering he admitted that in a speech at a crowded conference kicking off a competition to actually design those 1,000 homes, it's clear that people can no longer dismiss the idea as an idealist's dream.

A homeless person seeks shelter on the sidewalk under cardboard and a blanket.In fact, it's no longer just his plan – it's now in the hands of the 1,000 Homes Coalition.

The 1,000 Homes plan is starting relatively small, with a competition between teams of graduate students, including two UCLA teams, who will work with local cities to design feasible supportive housing. The students will have to overcome political and financial realities, from obtaining permits and overcoming community opposition to building quality homes on a budget. The student's solutions will form the basis for legislation and real housing projects.

Golshani obtained a $25,000 grant for the plan from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Foundation — he's a member of ULI's Los Angeles branch, one of the sponsors of 1,000 Homes. In fact, the plan is sponsored by a slew of local agencies, from homeless services provider Shelter Partnership to UCLA's Ziman Center for Real Estate, which hosted the conference on campus April 10. The conference was in part a daylong briefing to get the students up to speed, explained Tim Kawahara, executive director of the Ziman Center in UCLA's Anderson School of Management>>>