GEOG 4UH3

Urban Housing

Calendar Description

The geography of housing, including the effects of land development, construction, municipal planning and public policy on the urban landscape of housing and homelessness.

One lecture/seminar; one term
Prerequisite(s): One of GEOG 3UG3, 3UR3
 
 
Antirequisite(s): GEO 4HZ3

 

Time/Term Offered: Term Two Winter 2012-13

Instructor: Richard Harris
Room: General Science Building Rm. 216
Tel:(905) 525.9149 x27216
Email: harrisr@mcmaster.ca
Office hours: TBA

Teaching Assistant:

Amy Shanks (BSB 338; ext. 20441; shanksa@mcmaster.ca)

Course Outline Avenue to Learn

Introduction:

This course surveys urban housing in North American cities, seen from a geographical and historical point of view. Bottom-up and top-down views of housing will be used as a way of introducing a discussion of the changing ways in which housing has been affected by government policy, and how it has been produced, owned, financed, and used. Lectures will usually run, with a break, for two hours. The schedule of topics is as follows.

Introduction: Urban Housing.
Jan.9 1. Introduction; housing from the bottom up – homelessness
Jan.16 2. Housing from the top down – the financial crisis.
Jan.23 3. Housing from the bottom up – landscapes of housing
Jan. 30 4. Landscapes (cont.)
Feb. 6 5. The nature of housing : similarities with other commodities
Feb. 13 6. The nature of housing : differences

Mid-term break

Housing Policy
Feb. 27 7. Perspectives on housing and government policy
Mar. 6 8. Trends in federal and municipal housing policy

The Housing Market
Mar. 13 9. Land development and land use controls
Mar. 20 10. The residential construction industry
Mar. 27 11. Filtering and home finance
Apr. 3 12. Housing tenure: the Canadian dream
Apr. 10 13 Review

Lecture/Labs

Wednesdays 11:30-2:20, ABB 162 – but note announcement in class

 

Required Text Books/Course materials:

Readings: The required ‘text’ is Witold Rybczynski, Last Harvest (2007). A list of required readings will be handed out. Most of these are available online, either through the McMaster university library website or on the web. A small package of readings will be distributed in class.
Readings are keyed to lectures.

Evaluation:

1. First assignment, Due Feb. 13, 25%
2. Second assignment, Due Mar. 27, 35%
3. Final exam t.b.a. (exam period) 40%

Late Penalties & Extensions
Extensions on assignment due dates will only be granted in exceptional circumstances (illness, etc.). If you are ill, or have another serious personal or family emergency that has affected/ will affect your ability to complete your work on time, you must get documentation which states the nature of your absence, the duration (in days), and your expected date of return to school. You must then take this documentation immediately to the office of your faculty (e.g. Social Science). If the absence is approved, your faculty office will then notify your instructor(s). It is then your responsibility, as the student, to set up an appointment or visit the designated instructor during their set office hours to agree upon what accommodations will be made. Please note that even with valid documentation, your instructor(s) reserve the right not to accommodate your absence (e.g. if it is deemed that you had ample opportunity to complete the assignment prior to the onset of the illness).

Plan ahead. A bout of the flu, just before an assignment is due, will not necessarily warrant an extension. It is your responsibility to manage your time and to get work in on time. Late assignments will be penalized at a rate of 15% per day - weekends count as two days, with no exceptions except as noted above.

A fuller description of guidelines for handing in assignments, and for communication, will be handed out separately

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.

The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:

  • Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which other credit has been obtained.

  • Improper collaboration in group work.

  • Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.

It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/policy/Students-AcademicStudies/AcademicIntegrity.pdf

The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.