Low-income housing projects–despite the best intentions of architects, planners and their nonprofit operators–have not reliably improved the economic lot of their residents over time. Rather than looking solely to sources like architecture for change, the design team reframed Community Builders’ approach to housing, enabling the organization to foster investment in residents and leverage resident motivations as the driving force for social change. The design team provided a new framework for community development that has succeeded in shifting the client’s focus to designing for social entrepreneurship, rather than social service and paternalistic “assistance.” Our research opens the door to initiatives that reach across demographic lines, and it provides the basis for a market-based model for neighborhood renewal.