This course introduces economic frameworks for understanding the benefits and challenges of living in, working in, and managing cities and their built environments. Urban economics incorporates the concept of space into canonical economic models and provides a lens for analyzing and describing the nature and organization of economic activity in urban settings. We will explore questions around why cities exist in the first place, what determines their growth, and what features contribute to their economic advantages as well as their unique problems. Why do some cities grow faster than others? Can cities ever get too dense or large? We will draw from typical urban economic models and frameworks but will also discuss and test their limits when applying them to complex urban systems. For example, how well do these models address issues of segregation and informality in cities? The course will draw from research and scholarship in the field of urban economics, as well as actual cases, policy applications, and guest lecturers employing these concepts in the field.

The course also explores market analysis and urban economics as they intersect with real estate practice. Students learn, in a hands-on way, how to employ urban economics concepts and frameworks, including location theory, the interaction between local and global spatial dynamics, demographic trends, and regional economic forecasting, to develop data-driven market analyses useful for real estate and urban development practice more broadly. Students will be able to employ economic frameworks and methods to design, evaluate, and implement planning and policy interventions as well as understand the role of real estate markets in a range of urban settings. This course assumes no previous background in economics and requires some, but not extensive, math and graphing. This course satisfies the Economic Methods requirement for urban planning students, is required for Master in Real Estate students, and is open to cross-registration students from other schools. MRE students may seek a waiver of this requirement by successfully passing a waiver examination administered during orientation week.