Studies in the Right to Shelter
Parsons School of Design: School of Constructed Env.
CRN: 5792
Credits: 3
This interdisciplinary seminar assumes that everyone has the right to housing, holistically defined as the right to culturally appropriate living space and all the supporting physical infrastructure it requires, along with the right to participate in its governance. It deals with the housing inequality that impoverished families experience, especially the racially explicit government policies that combine with private prejudice and structural income inequality to create disproportionate levels of housing poverty and homelessness for African American families. Finally, it considers how to address the current displacement of impoverished but culturally vibrant African American neighborhoods where extended families live, own their homes and small businesses, cook soul food, give form to jazz, and attend church. The seminar offers recorded guest lectures and a site visit that enrich instructor lectures and student-led discussions of The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein and other readings. It has three parts, each part ending with a written assignment. The longest part lays the intellectual foundations of the course by exposing students to such topics as discrimination, displacement, collective ownership, cultural wealth, and community design, with a special focus upon the history of de jure segregation in America and the housing problems that resulted from this legacy. The second part of the seminar explores how community revitalization experts have addressed housing inequality around the country and provides a deep dive into a case study. The third part takes the form of a studio and engages students in developing a plan of action for intervening in the case study, which can take the form of a written plan or policy or design. Students present their proposals in a public review on the last day of class.
College: Parsons School of Design (PS)
Department: School of Constructed Env. (SCE)
Campus: New York City (GV)
Course Format: Seminar (R)
Modality: In-Person
Max Enrollment: 15
Add/Drop Deadline: February 4, 2024 (Sunday)
Online Withdrawal Deadline: April 16, 2024 (Tuesday)
Seats Available: Yes
Status: Closed*
* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 8:08am EDT 9/13/2024