Syllabus

Course Information

Course Overview and Objectives

Housing represents a fundamental human need and a critical element of human settlements. Within the context of urban planning, housing represents one of the ways in which planning intervention has sought to ensure the health and safety of residents, while also bearing influence on a range of other spatial, social, and economic relationships.

Within this class, we will explore policies and practices related to housing and neighborhood wellbeing in the United States and abroad. We will learn how these policies attempt to intervene and shape the physical, economic, social, and political dimensions of our lives.

Learning Goals

By the end of this course, we will develop:

  1. An understanding of the housing production and regulation system in the United States;
  2. An understanding of historic and contemporary housing policy intervention strategies;
  3. An understanding the intersection between housing policy and other urban policy initiatives;
  4. A framework for evaluation and analysis of housing policies in the US and abroad;
  5. Strategies for effective analysis and communication of housing policy trends and impacts.

Prerequisites

UP 473 is designed as a seminar which compliments engagement and discussion with independent work. This course has no prerequisites aside from upper-level undergraduate or graduate-level standing. Students will benefit from some prior knowledge of urban planning theories, concepts, and analytical techniques, although these are not a required prerequisite. Please touch base with me if you have any questions regarding whether this course is right for you.

Approach and Course Organization

I’ve designed our course to assume that you have no prior knowledge about either housing, policy, or urban planning more generally. The introductory module of our course is designed as sort of a crash course so that we can develop a shared language and framework for thinking about (housing) policy and its impacts. Over the course of the semester, we’ll grapple with a few big-picture questions about housing and its impacts:

  • How do we ensure housing stability
  • Where are poor people to live? What housing are poor people to occupy?
  • How do we ensure fairness in housing?
  • How do we address the housing needs of certain populations?
  • What’s your plan for intervention?

You’ll note that these are all very broad questions - that’s on purpose. To help fill in these broad questions, each class session will further flesh out some aspect of the question. Likewise, assignments will ask you to bridge these big picture questions in order to start applying your knowledge to conceptualizing, critiquing, and responding to existing policy frameworks. By the end of the semester, you will have gained familiarity to major housing policies in the United Stated, will be familiar with common ways of measuring and understanding their impact, and will be able to both critique existing policies and design new policies that respond to emerging needs. My goal is that you leave the class with a foundational knowledge that would allow you to pursue entry-level professional employment or research opportunities related to our course content.

Course Materials

Most course materials are accessible via our course website. Because this website is publicly accessible, some course materials are restricted access and available by logging in to your UIUC Box.net account. Some links especially to academic journal articles may also require you to log in via VPN if you are off campus.

Our course also has a Canvas site which will primarily be used for assignment submission and recording grades and attendance.

There is one required textbook which we will use of the course of the semester:

Schwartz, Alex F. Housing Policy in the United States (4th Edition)

Please purchase a copy of this book from your preferred bookseller.

Assignments, Grading, and Attendance

Assignments

You can find more information on grade elements on the Assignments page.

All assignments should be submitted via Canvas as a PDF file (unless otherwise noted in the assignment). Late work will be automatically graded down by 5 points per 24-hour period your assignment is late, and will only be accepted if you have made arrangements with me prior to the assignment due date.

Grading

This course requires your engagement both within and outside of our seminar sessions. Grading criteria include contribution to the course environment, quality of writing, depth of analysis, and thoughtful engagement with the subject matter and each other. You work will be graded on a 100-point scale:

Letter Grade Point Range Description
A > 90 Points Outstanding work, ready for publication and dissemination
B 80 - 89 Points Good work, work needs minor revision
C 70 - 79 Points Work needs major revision
D 60 - 69 Points Work needs significant revision and rethinking
F < 59 Points Work does not meet minimum standards

Consistent contributions to discussion, thoughtful engagement with course material, and other achievements may lead to adjustments in course grades. Work submitted after the assigned due date will be graded down by 2 percent per day and will not be accepted more than 7 days after it is due unless you have made arrangements with me prior to the assignment due date.

AI Usage

Any use of AI tools in producing or representing content in your work must be acknowledged. For any instances where AI was used in the development, analysis, generation, or writing of content, include a disclosure statement which at a minimum details the following:

  1. Name of the tool(s) used

  2. Description of how the tool was used (for instance developing the outline, refining writing)

  3. Explain how you modified the content that was generated by AI

  4. Describe how using this AI tool aided your work

Example Disclosure Statement: To develop the course Use of AI policy, I used ChatGPT to refine my writing for conciseness and clarity. I also referred to other graduate-level housing policy course syllabi and looked at university guidance regarding course AI policies. Use of this AI technology aided me in developing a policy that minimizes ambiguity and that is enforceable under department and university regulations.

Any failure to cite or disclose the use of AI tools in your work will be considered an act of academic misconduct and will be treated as a violation of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Honor Code. Penalties for violating this code in the class include receiving a failing grade on the assignment, failure of the course, or other penalties as allowed in the Student Code.

Attendance

The learning environment in this seminar depends upon your participation. Full participation is expected for all course sessions. For each course session that you are absent from (excluding excused absences), 2 percent will be deducted from your final course grade. Excused absences will be granted on a case-by-case basis, but must be approved by me prior to the course session which you are absent from.

For those students who need to miss class due to a religious observance, please complete the Request for Accommodation for Religious Observances form should any instructors require an absence letter in order to manage the absence. In order to best facilitate planning and communication between students and faculty, we request that students make requests for absence letters as early as possible in the semester in which the request applies.

For more information on attendance policy as described in the University of Illinois Student Code, please see Sections 1-501 and 1-502.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

If you need accommodations for any sort of disability, please make an office hours appointment so we can discuss your needs and ways I can support your learning. To ensure that disability-related concerns are properly addressed, students who require assistance to participate in this class should contact Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES). DRES provides students with academic accommodations, access, and support services. To contact DRES you may visit 1207 S. Oak St., Champaign, call 333-4603 (V/TDD), or e-mail disability@illinois.edu.

Honor Code and Learning Environment

The Illinois Student Code states: “It is the responsibility of each student to refrain from infractions of academic integrity, from conduct that may lead to suspicion of such infractions, and from conduct that aids others in such infractions.” Note that you are subject to the Honor Code, as well as procedures for addressing violations to the Code, regardless of whether you have read it and understand it. According to the Code, “ignorance is no excuse.”

To meet this standard in this class, note the following: in written work, all ideas (as well as data or other information) that are not your own must be cited. Note that ideas that require citation may not have been published or written down anywhere. While you are free—and indeed encouraged—to discuss the assignments with your peers, all of your data collection, analysis, and writing should be your own. Sharing of data sources you have been assigned to collect is a violation of the honor code in this course. The penalty for failing to meet the principles or spirit of the honor code may include automatic failure of the assignment or the class, at the discretion of the instructor.

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning is committed to maintaining a learning environment that is rooted in the goals and responsibilities of professional planners. By enrolling in a class offered by the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, students agree to be responsible for maintaining an atmosphere of mutual respect in all activities, including lectures, discussions, labs, projects, and extracurricular programs. See Student Code Article 1-Student Rights and Responsibilities, Part 1. Student Rights: §1-102.

Health and Safety

Following University policy, all students are required to engage in appropriate behavior to protect the health and safety of the community. If you feel ill, do not come to class. Please notify me, and at my discretion, you will be given excused absences for these class sessions. We will also develop a plan to discuss how to make up any missed work.

Staying in Touch

As you learn and face challenges this semester, I need you to communicate with me, either during our course sessions or individually. You can schedule an appointment with me at your convenience via my Calendly page. I promise to listen, to be a resource, and to help in any way that I can - if I can’t help you, I will find someone who can.

Sexual Misconduct Reporting Obligation

The University of Illinois is committed to combating sexual misconduct. Faculty and staff members are required to report any instances of sexual misconduct to the University’s Title IX and Disability Office. In turn, an individual with the Title IX and Disability Office will provide information about rights and options, including accommodations, support services, the campus disciplinary process, and law enforcement options.

A list of the designated University employees who, as counselors, confidential advisors, and medical professionals, do not have this reporting responsibility and can maintain confidentiality, can be found here. Other information about resources and reporting is available at wecare.illinois.edu.

Community of Care

As members of the Illinois community, we each have a responsibility to express care and concern for one another. If you come across a classmate whose behavior concerns you, whether in regard to their well-being or yours, we encourage you to refer this behavior to the Connie Frank CARE Center (formerly the Student Assistance Center) in the Office of the Dean of Students. You may do so by calling 217-333-0050 or by submitting an online referral. Based on your report, staff in the Connie Frank CARE Center will reach out to offer support and assistance.

Further, as a Community of Care, we want to support you in your overall wellness. We know that students sometimes face challenges that can impact academic performance (examples include mental health concerns, food insecurity, homelessness, personal emergencies). Should you find that you are managing such a challenge and that it is interfering with your coursework, you are encouraged to contact the Connie Frank CARE Center (formerly the Student Assistance Center) in the Office of the Dean of Students for support and referrals to campus and/or community resources.

Mental Health

The University of Illinois offers a variety of confidential services including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, psychiatric services, and specialized screenings which are covered through the Student Health Fee. If you or someone you know experiences mental health concerns, please contact or visit any of the University’s resources provided below. Getting help is a smart and courageous thing to do for yourself and for those who care about you.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911.