VVZ API is not affiliated with ETH Zurich. Data might be outdated or incorrect. Please view the official ETHZ Vorlesungsverzeichnis for binding information.

052-0731-25L 2 Credits BSC , MSC D-ARCH

Global Housing Issues, Challenges and Strategies

Lecturers & Examiners: Dr. Jennifer Erica Duyne Barenstein
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-06-01 11:30:29

Abstract

This lecture series explores housing inequality and innovation in Latin America through interdisciplinary lenses. Topics include displacement, informal housing, financialized policies, gentrification, feminist and collaborative models. Students engage with expert talks to examine both structural issues and emerging solutions.

Objective

This course introduces students to the key housing challenges facing Latin America today. Students will explore how structural forces—including political instability, climate change, demographic shifts, and the financialization of housing—have deepened housing precarity across the region.They will further critically engage with innovative housing solutions emerging on the continent today. Through lectures and case studies led by scholars working in Latin America, students will critically examine why adequate housing remains out of reach for millions, and how local actors are developing alternative responses. The course encourages students to engage with the political, social, and spatial dimensions of housing in the Global South, and to reflect on how these insights may inform broader debates around urban justice worldwide. Students actively engage in these complex topics through reading scientific texts, presenting to the class and discuss with the invited guest lecturers.

Content

• Structural Drivers of Housing Inequality • Displacement, Migration, and Housing • Informal Housing and Urbanization • Financialized and Exclusive Housing Policies • Gentrification and Urban Upgrading • Feminist and Intersectional Housing Perspectives • Innovative and Collaborative Housing Models • Interdisciplinary Approaches and Case Studies

Resources

Lecture Notes

A course overview including lecture summaries is made available to inscribed students prior the start of the semester.

Literature

A bibliography will be made available to inscribed students prior the start of the semester.

Learning Materials (Links)

General Information

Language
English
Levels
BSC , MSC
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
graded semester performance
Students will deliver a presentation on one of the course lecture topics. The presentation should be based on the assigned readings and supported by the student’s own critical analysis.

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture Global Housing Issues, Challenges and Strategies: Housing Struggles and Innovations in Latin America
No course 20.10.2025 (seminar week) and in the last two weeks of the semester.
  • Mon 15:45-17:30 (HCI J 4)
2 h weekly

Offered In