| Course information | |
|---|---|
| Type | Transversal deepening module |
| Timeline | March |
| Number of ECTS | 5 ECTS |
| Coordinators | Dr Alonso Ayala |
| Lecturers | Ore Fika, Dr Alonso Ayala and Dr Maartje van Eerd |
| Methodology | Lectures, workshops and site visit(s) |
Course description
In the context of accelerating urbanisation, climate change, growing socio-economic inequalities, and persistent housing shortages, cities across the world are facing an unprecedented housing and land crisis. These challenges are further intensified by overlapping economic, environmental, and political disruptions, requiring a fundamental rethinking of how housing and land are governed, and how housing and land contributes to spatial and environmental (in)justice. Traditional approaches, which are often shaped by neoliberal urban development have proven insufficient in addressing issues of housing affordability, tenure insecurity, exclusion, socio-spatial, economic and environmental injustice. As a result, there is an urgent need to critically examine and rethink existing housing and land approaches contribution to address urban inequalities from both spatial and environmental perspectives.
This module, rethinking housing and land governance in times of spatial and environmental crisis, responds to and explores approaches and strategies for addressing urban housing and land challenges by examining and critically questioning how different governance approaches and interventions shape and transform housing eco-systems and land governance under neoliberal urban development.
The course focuses on how these policies influence the provision of adequate housing, access to land, equity, socio-spatial and environmental justice. It emphasises the interconnected nature of housing and land policies, recognising that land security and tenure arrangements form the foundation for sustainable, inclusive, and adequate housing development. Students will explore a broad spectrum of housing and land policy frameworks and practices worldwide, ranging from top-down, state-led interventions to bottom-up, community-driven approaches. They will examine conventional to innovative solutions that lead to sustainable cities and communities.
Through key readings, lectures, case studies, practical exercises, and workshops, students will critically assess how housing and land policy approaches have evolved and how they contribute to or hinder the realisation of equitable access to land, adequate housing, and socio-spatial and environmental justice.
The structure of the module is summarized as follows:
- Week one: fundamentals on housing and land policy, justice and the connection to the environment from the perspective of planetary boundaries
- Week two: Housing (challenges, opportunities, adequate housing approaches, informal settlements, innovation, health and CC)
- Week three: Land (land system change, formal and informal markets, tenure and property rights, land value capture and CC)
- Week four: Workshop (case study based) and exam
Learning objectives
At the end of this course, students will be able to critically analyse the intersections between housing, land governance, and planetary boundaries by:
- Integrating frameworks of ecological limits, justice, and adequate housing
- Applying the 5A Principles of adequate housing and key land governance instruments for achieving socio-spatial, economic and environmental justice
- Evaluating formal and informal housing and land policy approaches across diverse urban contexts in addressing issues of equity, access, and sustainability.
- Formulating evidence-based planning and policy responses that advance adequate housing, land equity, sustainability, and the rights of vulnerable groups.