Housing Report (20 points) Due 12/18 @ 11:59p via Brightspace
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Presentation (5 points) Due 12/4

 

The purpose of this assignment is to provide an opportunity for you to identify and examine a current housing-related issue or problem—this can be an issue in NYC, NYS, or elsewhere in the U.S.

Through the lectures and assigned materials, we’re learning that providing adequate and fair housing, especially for low-income people, has been (and continues to be) a problem connected to bad policy, (hyper)commodification, explicit/implicit racism, and market failures—issues endemic to a capitalist system. These class materials have provided both overviews and deeper dives into many areas concerning housing and homelessness and should serve to help you contextualize the housing issue on which you choose to focus.

To help you identify a current housing-related issue, consider the following sources for ideas:

• News sources (e.g., New York Times, Gothamist)
• Research institutions (e.g., NYU Furman Center, Community Service Society)
• Activist/Advocacy Organizations (e.g., Housing Justice for All, IMPACCT Brooklyn)
• Examples discussed in class

NOTE: The current issue you choose to examine needs to be something specific. In other words, your issue can’t be something broad like “gentrification”, or “affordable housing”. Rather, a specific issue could be, for example, the non-enforcement of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing mandates across a portfolio of properties, or community opposition to an affordable housing development in a neighborhood.

🕬  Please feel free to make an appoint to discuss ideas and progress.

 

For the report I’m asking you to identify a current housing-related issue that is either affecting New Yorkers or people in another U.S. city.

You have some liberty with identifying the specific housing-related issue you want to examine, but you must be able to provide the following four components as part of your report:

1. Description of the issue

• • What is the issue and why is it a problem?
  • Where is it happening?
  • Who is it impacting and how are they being impacted?

2. Context for the issue

• • Provide some historical context for the problem
  • Explain how the problem came to exist
  • Identify some key players and describe their stance on the issue
  • Is there any conflict/tension over the issue? If so explain/describe.

3. Action on the issue

• • Is something being done to address this issue? If so, explain/describe.
  • Who are some of the key players in addressing this issue.
  • Are there competing visions for how the issue should be addressed? If so, explain/describe.

4. Critical analysis of the issue

• • Is this an isolated issue or part of a larger problem? Explain.
  • Is there historical precedent for this issue or at least something similar that has happened before?
  • Do you think the actions taken to address the issue have been adequate and fair? Explain why/why not.
  • What would you recommend be done to address this issue in a socially just way?
  • What changes should be made to prevent this kind of issue in the future?

 

Please have a housing-related issue (or a short-list of options) identified by October 30^th so we can discuss in class.

 

Format for the report:

For Undergraduate Students:

• • Please write 5-7 pages (i.e., 1600-2300 words, not including a bibliography page)
    • double-spaced, 1-inch margins, Times New Roman, 12pt font-size
  • Include a bibliography at the end or use endnotes. Be consistent and clear with whichever citation method you use.
  • Incorporate at last one graphic element into your report.
  • Reference at least 5 sources—you’ll likely find you easily surpass five sources!

For Graduate Student:

• • Please write 7-10 pages (i.e., 2300-3200 words, not including a bibliography page)
    • double-spaced, 1-inch margins, Times New Roman, 12pt font-size,
  • Include a bibliography at the end or use endnotes. Be consistent and clear with whichever citation method you use.
  • Incorporate at last two graphic element into your report
  • Reference at least 7 sources

 

For the presentation, please provide a brief overview of your report. This should at least include a description and context of the issue. If you have some analysis written up by that point, please include that too. You only have 6 minutes, so you can’t cover everything, but cover enough that we have a sense of the issue you’re examining. Please do the following:

• Use google slides to create a graphically appealing presentation that is not overly text heavy.
• Create speaking notes for your slides to minimize reading off the slides.
• Don’t exceed 6 minutes – this has to be enforced so everyone has time.

Add you slides to the class slide deck before class on December 4th.

 

RUBRIC (25 points total)

Report – 20 points Due: 12/18 @ 11:59p
Four components – 12 pts	0-4 pts: The report is poorly researched, the issue is unclear and not well analyzed, and the report doesn’t address all four components.	5-8 pts: The report is fairly well researched, the issue is clearly identified and described and somewhat contextualized but is lacking in some detail and the analysis is weak/thin.	9-12  pts: The report is well researched, the issue is clearly identified and described and is somewhat  to thoroughly contextualized and the analysis is somewhat to very strong.
Paper length/Formatting – 4 pts	0 pt: Falls far short of the page requirements, needs to write more	1-2 pts: Falls a bit short of the page requirements, needs to write more	3-4 pts: Meets page and formatting requirements
Bibliography – 2 pts	0 pts: Didn’t cite anything	1 pt: Inadequately cited sources or made little effort	2 pts: Properly cited sources
References – 2 pts	0 pts: Doesn’t use any references	1 pt: Doesn’t use enough references	2 pts: Uses enough references somewhat to very effectively
Presentation – 5 pts Due: 12/4	0 pts: Doesn’t give a presentation	1-2 pts: Gives a poor, hard to follow presentation and/or relies on reading from the slides too much	3-5 pts: Gives a somewhat to very clear and informative presentation making good use of speaker notes.