URBST 222 & 723
Powdermaker 115 | Mondays| 6:30 – 8:30p

COURSE DESCRIPTION

With an emphasis on NYC, this class explores the situation of renters and owners in urban areas through a critical lens on race and capitalism. Using a variety of sources (e.g., texts, videos, podcasts), we will evaluate policies and seek to understand the impact of the housing market on neighborhood change and homelessness. This class also considers what different levels of government are doing (and not doing) to ensure that all residents have decent and safe housing. We will focus on a variety of aspects including public housing, rent regulation, mortgage finance, and other public and private programs that play a role in the development of housing in the city. Additionally, we will learn about activism related to affordable housing, tenant advocacy, and homelessness both in the U.S. and abroad.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Over the course of the semester, students will:

1. Gain a foundational understanding of how cities and communities approach the issue of housing and homelessness from a critical assessment of a variety of sources and perspectives.
2. Study historical and contemporary structures of racialized housing in the U.S.
3. Learn about the impacts of neoliberalism and housing financialization and alternative ways of housing.

 

MEET YOUR  LECTURER

Adjunct Instructor: Erin Lilli, M/MS.Arch 
Email: elilli@gradcenter.cuny.edu
Office Hours: By appointment (in-person on Mondays or via zoom). 

Erin is a PhD candidate in Environmental Psychology at The Graduate Center, CUNY and adjunct lecturer in Urban Studies at Queens College since 2016. She is completing her dissertation on the material conditions and experiences of gentrification had by long-term Black renters and homeowners in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Situating the work within Black Geographies, Erin is interested in how these residents maintain footholds in the neighborhood, both economically and socially.

Additionally, Erin is a member of the Public Space Research Group, WRAC certified through Kingsborough Community College, and recipient of an Open Knowledge Fellowship to create Open Education Resources courses. She also teaches in the Urban Placemaking Department at Pratt. 

View Erin’s CV here. 

 

Header Image Source: Alfred E. Smith Houses from Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan, New York by Ken Lund (CC BY SA 2.0)