The central intellectual theme of this course is that effective problem diagnosis and policy prescription depends on a thorough understanding of how the metropolitan housing/urban market operates. This course is designed to expose students to contemporary theoretical and empirical work related to metropolitan housing/urban problems and public policies designed to overcome these problems. But more than simply presenting this information as is done in introductory courses, this course attempts to build students’ capabilities for diagnosis of problems, incisive critiques of policy, and written and oral presentation of these findings in both group and individual contexts.