History of housing and cities

80% of our built environment consists of housing; its quality has a major influence on the quality of the city. The essential steps in the evolution of the production of social housing projects and their impact on the quality of life in the city, mainly in Europe, will be discovered during the course.
The lecture combines chronological and comparative approaches. The content covers the historical evolution of the social housing production in Europe, from the early nineteenth century until nowadays. Each lecture is related to a specific type of stakeholder. The ambitions, the tools and the power of the stakeholders are presented and related to their urban physical influences. Each lecture presents examples of housing estates, from the same type of stakeholders, in different countries, and compares them.

The following topics will be dealt with:

• Introduction and presentation of the learning goals, methods and assignments
• The speculators and the unhealthy cities
• The pioneer doctors and philanthropists and their allotment policies in the city
• The housing stock of the industrialists and the economic competitiveness of the city
• The politicians and their housing and urban development legislations
• The social democrat municipalities and their housing and urban typologies
• The building companies and their housing and urban production
• The inhabitants and their participative housing and urban production.

The student selects a social housing estate which can have been built anywhere in the world. The choice of the housing estate must be approved by the lecturer. The student must analyze and illustrate adequately the context of the estate. Therefore the student must collect complete (from different periods, at different scales) information and iconography about the chosen estate and its urban environment. The student has to identify the diverse influences (of stakeholders, financing system, legal frames, etc.) upon the design of the estate and the student has to discuss the added quality of the estate for the city. The student must write a well-argued point of view about the self-chosen social housing estate and its relation with the city.

For Student Mobility Alliance students: This course doesn’t require additional requirements other than stated above (if any). The course will be delivered on TU/e campus with the possibility for you to join online. A few face-face meetings might be scheduled for project or presentations. The final examination is a written (group) paper.

After successful completion of this course, the student will be able to formulate, within an historical perspective, an articulated point of view upon the quality of the urban integration of an existing social housing estate in the urban environment and its added value to the city. The student will be able to:

• Collect complete and reliable information about the history, the evolution and the actuality of a housing estate and its contribution to the quality of life in the city
• Clearly present the design and urban concept of the estate, and its important transformations until nowadays
• Analyze and clearly present the impact of a housing estate on the development of the city and its quality of life.
• Formulate a well-articulated analysis of the influence of political, economic, social, cultural, and urban contexts upon the conception, the realization and the evolution of the housing estate
• To compare the influences of several stakeholders during the history of the chosen estate and the city
• Analyze and position the value of the housing estate within an historical perspective
• Formulate a personal critical opinion about the strengths and weakness of the urban integration of the housing estate and its added value to the city.

https://tue.osiris-student.nl/onderwijscatalogus/extern/cursus?cursusid=1640250&taal=nl