Introduction to Housing, Community, and Economic Development
MIT OpenCourseWare presents this urban planning course examining social and economic inequality in the United States and the frameworks planners use to respond to it. Students work through equitable development as a planning approach, along with concepts of social capital and community building, before turning to the history and current state of two fields: housing, with attention to affordability and inclusion, and local economic development. Materials include the full syllabus, readings, and assignments used in the MIT classroom, offered free through OCW with no certificate attached. The course suits students of urban studies and planning who want a grounding in how inequality shapes housing policy and community economic strategy, and how planners have tried to build more equitable outcomes into both.