Course Syllabus
Housing the Unhoused Syllabus 2025.docx
Housing the Unhoused
Course Number: Plan 6946
Professor: Jessica Katz
Schedule: Fall 20245 Wednesdays 5-7pm Session B
Location: 204 Fayerweather
Credits: 1.5 Points
Course Summary: This course explores the challenges related to providing housing solutions for individuals experiencing homelessness. This course will consider the socioeconomic, political, and cultural factors and will emphasize practical approaches to address this issue. Students will analyze the exiting New York City regulatory and policy frameworks while examining US and international case studies and best practices and will explore ways to develop comprehensive and long-term housing solutions that prioritize the needs and dignity of the unhoused population. Students will hear from guest speakers with a variety of perspectives on the homelessness crisis in NYC and design practical programs to address the homelessness issues in cities across the US and around the world.
Suggested Readings:
Million Dollar Murray – Malcolm Gladwell (2/16/06 New Yorker Magazine)
A Journey from Homelessness to A Room of One’s Own – Jennifer Egan (9/11/2023 New Yorker Magazine)
Assignments:
Assignment 1 Due Wednesday October 29th: The Homelessness Problem in Your City: Write a profile of homelessness in a city you’ve lived in or know well. Review qualitative and quantitative data about the scale, nature, and causes of homelessness in that city. Discuss any notable features of the homelessness crisis in this city. (Length: 3-5 pages)
Assignment 2 Due Wednesday November 19th: Homelessness Solution for Your City: Design a program that will help address some aspect of homelessness in the city you studied in the first assignment. Describe the goals, eligibility, and operational considerations of the program. (Length: 10-15 pages)
Grading: 30% Assignment 1, 50% Assignment 2, 20% Attendance & Class Participation
Weekly Topics:
Week 1: 10/15/25
AGENDA: Course Introduction, Homelessness in NYC, By the Numbers, Terminology used to describe the phenomenon of homelessness
Week 2: 10/22/25
AGENDA: Site Visit to a Homeless Shelter & Supportive Housing program.
Meet at 5:30PM outside 145 West 108th St.
GUEST SPEAKER: Paul Freitag, Executive Director, West Side Federation for Senior & Supportive Housing
Week 3: 10/29/25
AGENDA: NYC’s Shelter System, Rental Subsidy Programs
GUEST SPEAKER: Molly Park, Commissioner, NYC Department of Social Services
ASSIGNMENT #1 DUE
Week 4: 11/5/25
AGENDA: Supportive Housing
Guest Speaker, Emily Lehman, Vice President for Real Estate, Settlement Housing Fund
Week 5: 11/12/25
AGENDA: Right to Shelter, Homelessness through a Human Rights Lens, Lived Experience of Homelessness
GUEST SPEAKER: Rob Robinson, Human Rights Advocate with a personal experience of homelessness
Week 6: 11/19/25
AGENDA: Class Assignment Presentations, Wrap up & Reflections
FINAL PAPERS DUE
Course Summary:
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