Berkeley Program on Housing and the Urban Policy
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Berkeley Courses on Housing and Urban Policy

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Public Policy          Business Administration          City & Regional Planning

[NOTE: This page lists approved courses in relevant subject areas in the UC-Berkeley catalog. Further scheduling and other information may be accessed by clicking on individual course listings.]

Public Policy

Graduate Courses

Housing and the Urban Economy
Public Policy 275 (3 units)
[NOTE: This course is also listed as City and Regional Planning 234 and Business Administration 286.]
Course Format: Three hours of seminar per week.
Prerequisites: 210A-210B or equivalent.
This course considers the economics of urban housing and land markets from the viewpoints of investors, developers, public and private managers, and consumers. It considers the interactions between private action and public regulation--including land use policy, taxation, and government subsidy programs. We will also analyze the links between primary and secondary mortgage markets, securitization, and liquidity. Finally, the links between local housing and related markets--such as transportation and public finance--will be explored.

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Business Administration

Graduate Courses

Real Estate and Urban Land
Business Administration 280 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Intensive review of literature in the theory of land use, urban growth, and real estate market behavior; property rights and valuation; residential and nonresidential markets; construction; debt and equity financing; public controls and policies.

Special Topics in Real Estate Economics and Finance
Business Administration 281 (1-3 units)
Course Format: One to three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: 280 and consent of instructor.
Credit option: Course may be repeated for credit.
Topics vary each semester. Topic areas include advanced techniques for real estate financial analysis and structuring and evaluation; the securitization of real estate debt and equity; issues in international real estate; cyclical behavior of real estate markets; portfolio theory and real estate asset allocation.

Seminar in Urban Economic Resource Policy
Business Administration 282 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Credit option: Course may be repeated for credit.
The interaction of the private and public sectors in urban development; modeling the urban economy; growth and decline of urban areas; selected policy issues: housing, transportation, financing, local government, urban redevelopment and neighborhood change are examined.

Real Estate Financing
Business Administration 283 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of optional discussion per week.
Prerequisites: Business Administration 280 and background in the basics of finance, micro-economics, macro-economics, statistics, and quantitative analysis.
Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of real estate financial analysis, including elements of mortgage financing and taxation. The course will apply the standard tools of financial analysis to specialized real estate financing circumstances and real estate evaluation.

Real Estate Strategy
Business Administration 284 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Analysis of selected problems and special studies; cases in residental and non-residental development and financing, urban redevelopment, real estate taxation, mortgage market developments, equity investment, valuation, and zoning.

Housing and the Urban Economy
Business Administration 286 (3 units)
[NOTE: This course is also listed as City and Regional Planning 234 and Public Policy 275.]
Course Format: Three hours of seminar per week.
Prerequisites: Public Policy 210A-210B or equivalent.
This course considers the economics of urban housing and land markets from the viewpoints of investors, developers, public and private managers, and consumers. It considers the interactions between private action and public regulation--including land use policy, taxation, and government subsidy programs. We will also analyze the links between primary and secondary mortgage markets, securitization, and liquidity. Finally, the links between local housing and related markets--such as transportation and public finance--will be explored.

Doctoral Seminar in Real Estate
Business Administration 289A (4 units)
Course Format: Three hours of seminar per week.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor; Ph.D. equivalents of micro and macro economics, finance/or accounting, statistics and econometrics.
Doctoral real estate seminar, covering topics related to real estate investment, finance, and market analysis. The course is rigorous and technical, applying financial and economic analysis to the subject areas of real estate finance, urban real estate economics, and real estate evaluation.

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Undergraduate Courses (Business Administration)

Introduction to Real Estate and Urban Land Economics
Business Administration 180 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Economics 1, Mathematics 16A or 1A, or equivalents.
The nature of real property; market analysis; construction cycles; mortgage lending; equity investment; metropolitan growth; urban land use; real property valuation; public policies.

Real Property Valuation
Business Administration 181 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: 180 or equivalent.
Critical examination of appraisal concepts and methods; the role of value estimates in private land-use and real estate investment decisions and in the implementation of public policies affecting urban development.

The Financial Management of Real Estate Resources
Business Administration 183 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: 180.
Real estate debt and equity financing; mortgage market structure; effects of credit on demand; equity investment criteria; public policies in real estate finance and urban development.

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City and Regional Planning

Graduate Courses

Introduction to Planning and Environmental Law
City and Regional Planning 205 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
Prerequisites: CP113A or equivalent.
An introduction to the American legal process and legal framework within which public policy and planning problems are addressed. The course stresses legal methodology, the basics of legal research, and the common-law decisional method. Statutory analysis, administrative law, and constitutional interpretation are also covered. Case topics focus on the law of planning, property rights, land use regulation, and access to housing.

Land and Housing Market Economics
City and Regional Planning 207 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
Prerequisites: 113A or equivalent.
Using microeconomics as its platform, course explores the process and pattern of land utilization from a variety of perspectives: the neighborhood, the city, and the metropolis. The approach blends real estate, descriptive urban geography, and urban history with economics.

Transportation and Land Use Planning
City and Regional Planning C213 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
Prerequisites: 113A or equivalent.
Examination of the interactions between transportation and land use systems; historical perspectives on transportation; characteristics of travel and demand estimation; evaluation of system performance; location theory; models of transportation and urban structure; empirical evidence of transportation-land use impacts; case study examinations. (Also listed as Civil and Environmental Engineering C290U.)

The Urban and Regional Economy
City and Regional Planning 220 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
Prerequisites: 113A or equivalent.
Analysis of the urban, metropolitan, and regional economy for planning. Economic base and other macro models; impact analysis and projection of changing labor force and industrial structure; economic-demographic interaction; issues in growth, income distribution, planning controls; interregional growth and population distribution issues.

Housing Planning and Policy
City and Regional Planning 230 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
Theory of housing markets and empirical methods for measuring market conditions and performance: housing consumption, housing supply and production, and market performance. Empirical analysis and applications to policy issues.

Housing in Developing Countries
City and Regional Planning 231 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
This course covers issues of housing policy and housing form in the urbanizing developing world from a comparative and cross-cultural perspective. Using case studies from Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, it highlights the role of physical planners as community activists involved in practices like squatter development slum upgrading, sites and services, and self-help.

Housing and the Urban Economy
City and Regional Planning 234 (3 units)
[NOTE: This course is also listed as Business Administration 286 and Public Policy 275.]
Course Format: Three hours of seminar per week.
Prerequisites: Public Policy 210A-210B or equivalent.
This course considers the economics of urban housing and land markets from the viewpoints of investors, developers, public and private managers, and consumers. It considers the interactions between private action and public regulation--including land use policy, taxation, and government subsidy programs. We will also analyze the links between primary and secondary mortgage markets, securitization, and liquidity. Finally, the links between local housing and related markets--such as transportation and public finance--will be explored.

Methods of Project Analysis
City and Regional Planning 235 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
Prerequisites: 207 or equivalent.
Using case studies, this course acquaints students with the techniques of project feasibility; analysis of project proposals and overall project compatibility assessment. Case studies will be based on a variety of public and private sector developments, in central city and suburb locations.

Affordable Housing and Neighborhood Development Studio
City and Regional Planning 238 (4 units)
Course Format: Two hours of lecture/seminar and four hours of studio per week.
Prerequisites: 235.
Studio experience in analysis, policy advising, and project design or general plan preparation for urban communities undergoing development, with a focus on site development and project planning.

Theories of Urban Form and Design
City and Regional Planning 240 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Theories and patterns of urban form throughout history are studied with emphasis on the role of planning and design in shaping cities and the relations between urban form and social, economic, and geographic factors. Using a case study approach, cities are evaluated in terms of various theories and performance dimensions.

Introduction to Land Use Planning
City and Regional Planning 250 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
This course will introduce students to the organization and conduct of local land use planning as practiced in California. The course will cover the following topics: California statutes, the General Plan, CEQA, specific plans and how to do them, and managing a planning department.

Environmental Planning and Regulation
City and Regional Planning C251(3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
This course will examine emerging trends in environmental planning and policy and the basic regulatory framework for environmental planning encountered in the U.S. We will also relate the institutional and policy framework of California and the United States to other nations and emerging international institutions. The emphasis of the course will be on regulating "residuals" as they affect three media: air, water, and land. Also listed as Landscape Architechture C231.

Land Use Controls
City and Regional Planning 252 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
An advanced course in implementation of land use and environmental controls. The theory, practice and impacts of zoning, growth management, land banking, development systems, and other techniques of land use control. Objective is to acquaint student with a range of regulatory techniques and the legal, administrative-political equity aspects of their implementation.

Theory, History, and Practice of Community Development
City and Regional Planning 260 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
This course will explore the theory, history, methods, and practice of local community development. The course will begin by examining the historical roots of community involvement and action. It will present alternative explanations for different paths of neighborhood and community change.

Comparative Analysis of Urban Policies
City and Regional Planning 275 (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
Description, analysis, and evaluation of urban policies in a variety of social and spatial contexts, with references to state-planned societies. Main topics: national and local public policies in regional development, housing, transportation, urban renewal, citizen participation, social services, and decentralized urban management.

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Undergraduate Courses (City and Regional Planning)

City and Regional Planning 111
Introduction to Housing: An International Survey (3 units)
Course Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.
Prerequisites: 110 or Economics 1 or consent of instructor; open to majors in all fields.
Housing problems, government housing policy, and housing as a field of urban planning practice. Emphasis on critical International Issues in the Third World and the United States.

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