Graduate prerequisites: SSWWP 700 and WP 701 - In the midst of a growing and multifaceted housing crisis, housing is an increasingly salient policy issue at the local, state and federal levels in the United States This course will examine the contemporary housing policy context in the United States. The overarching objective of the course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to analyze this contemporary context and make recommendations about the future of housing policy. In line with this objective, the course will cover the historical trajectory of housing policy in the United States and then shift to an examination of critical contemporary housing problems including rental housing affordability; eviction, homelessness and other forms of housing instability; homeownership; and racial discrimination in housing markets. In doing so, the course will also explore the relationship between housing and health as well as other social outcomes. The course will also analyze key federal, state and local housing policies¿with an emphasis on those intended to assist low-income renters¿and consider recent housing policy innovations that have either been proposed or implemented. Given that housing is a highly active area of social policy, the course will draw frequently on current events¿including policy initiatives that may be under consideration at the local and state levels¿and will engage guest speakers whose work intersects with various areas of housing policy.

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