The Politics of Housing and Urban Development

This course offers an exploration of how legislative action, government policymaking, and citizen advocacy influence plans for the investment of public capital in distressed urban neighborhoods. The course will include an evaluation of policies undertaken by Philadelphia Mayor James F. Kenney and his predecessors to reduce poverty and promote equitable development in the city's most distressed neighborhoods, as well as new federal policy initiatives launched by the Biden administration. In weekly conversations with individuals who are currently engaged in implementing public- and private-sector development plans, students will discuss land banks, code enforcement, eviction prevention, and homeless housing initiatives, as well as reinvestment strategies for small Pennsylvania cities and Camden's waterfront and downtown-area neighborhoods.