Suspended in 2025/26
GY441 Half Unit
The Politics of Housing
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Dr Romola Sanyal
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in City Design and Social Science, MSc in Human Geography and Urban Studies (Research), MSc in Regional And Urban Planning Studies, MSc in Urban Policy (LSE and Sciences Po) and MSc in Urbanisation and Development. This course is freely available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. It does not require permission. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: Priority: MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies, MSc in City Design and Social Science and MSc Urbanisation and Development students than outside students.. Priority is typically for students enrolled in Geography and Environment programmes, or joint degree programmes, however course specific availability is indicated via the 'Availability section' on the LSE course guide webpages. Guidance on how to apply to individual controlled access courses can also be found on LSE for You in the Graduate Course Selection system.
Please note: The number of students that can be accommodated is limited. If a course is over-subscribed, places will be allocated at the Department's discretion and a waiting list may be created. It is advised to have an alternative course in mind as a back-up in case you are unable to secure your first-choice course selection.
Deadline for application: Further guidance and information on course selection for Geography and Environment courses (GY4xx) will be available on the Geography and Environment Course Selection Moodle page which will go live from Monday 8 September and will be updated with course availability information daily throughout the course selection period. This page includes information on the timeline for course selection decisions in the Geography and Environment Department as well as the individual course application processes and requirements
A list of all taught master's courses in this Department are listed on LSE's course guide webpages.
For queries contact: geog.ud@lse.ac.uk
Course content
The aim of this course is to examine the politics of housing from a transnational and comparative perspective. The course will link the empirical analyses on housing to theoretical discussions on class, community, gender, ethnicity and design. It will analyse housing issues ranging from informality, homelessness and gated communities to housing tenure, architectural design and housing as a humanitarian tool. This is an interdisciplinary course, drawing upon debates in fields such as Architecture, Urban Planning, Geography, Sociology, Anthropology and Development Studies. The course will help students develop a broad knowledge of the politics of housing in different countries and how they intersect with issues such as urban development, housing finance and public policy. It will also encourage students to think about housing issues relationally and globally.
Themes
Some of the themes covered in this course include: Traditional Housing, Communities, Gender and Housing, Race and Ethnicity and Housing, Homelessness, Housing and Emergencies etc.
Teaching
10 hours of seminars and 15 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.
In the Department of Geography and Environment, teaching will be delivered through a combination of classes/seminars, pre-recorded lectures, live online lectures and other supplementary interactive live activities.
Formative assessment
Students will be expected to produce 1 piece of coursework in the WT.
One 1500 word essay and 4 one page reading responses
Indicative reading
- Grewal, I. (1996) Home and Harem: Nation, Gender, Empire and the Cultures of Travel. Durham: Duke University Press
- Caldeira, Teresa. (2001) City of Walls: Crime, Segregation and Citizenship in Sao Paolo. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Gowan, T. (2010) Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders: Homeless in San Francisco. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
- Gottesdiener, L (2013) A Dream Foreclosed: Black America and the Fight for a Place to Call Home. Westfield: Zuccotti Park Press
- Jackson, K. (1985) Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press.
- King, A. (1995) The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture, New York: Oxford University Press.
- Smart, A. (2006) The Shek Kip Mei Myth: Squatters, Fires and Colonial Rule in Hong Kong, 1950-1963. Hong Kong University Press.
Assessment
Presentation (30%)
Essay (70%, 3000 words)
Key facts
Department: Geography and Environment
Course Study Period: Winter Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 37
Average class size 2024/25: 19
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Application of information skills
- Communication
- Specialist skills