The objective for this course is to understand housing as a driver of social impact in urban communities. Part of Booth’s Social Impact Curriculum, this course presents a set of ideas, debates, and frameworks for students interested in the people side of housing investment.
Housing and Social Impact Lab is a multidisciplinary course in content and approach. The course is open to students outside of Booth, and students from other UChicago professional schools are encouraged to apply. Assigned readings include history, economics, political theory, urban science, and the arts. We will examine the social impact of housing from different perspectives, including housing as an asset class, housing as a public good, and housing as community ownership.
Presence and participation are essential for this course. Students will reflect on their housing experiences, debate ideas, and work with a for-profit or nonprofit housing developer in a Chicago community to advance a group project. Guest speakers from different sectors including community development, impact investing, philanthropy, and government will provide additional opportunities for students to engage directly with social impact leaders.
Each student team will meet with their project partner in Week 1, and have seven weeks thereafter to complete a scope of work. The Instructor will participate in an early meeting with each student team and project partner to affirm the objectives and primary deliverables for the project. Student teams are expected to work directly with the project partner leading to a final class presentation during Week 9 of the course.
Please complete this pre-course application to receive detailed student project descriptions.
