Contemporary Housing Policy Debates

Housing policy in the United States covers a vast terrain. Housing policy includes regulation on what housing is built and where, how financial institutions lend to individuals and developers, and the allocation of public subsidies for housing development and direct aid to tenants for housing costs. It includes law that prohibits some—but not all—discrimination in housing development and transactions and obligates government agencies to affirmatively further fair housing goals. This course introduces students to current and historic local, state, and federal housing policy and law in the United States, and contemporary housing policy debates about what works and what does not to meet the needs of communities nationwide. Students will evaluate policy frameworks by engaging with research that explores how housing policy and its implementation impacts affordability, supply, equity, segregation, and climate. The readings will provide students a theoretically informed understanding of contemporary housing policy and law while also introducing students to active policy debates between economists, geographers, legal scholars, sociologists, and urban planning scholars. This course requires students to question the assumptions underlying past and current housing policy, to think critically about whether current housing policy meet community needs, and to contemplate solutions.