Market Analysis and Urban Economics

This course—Market Analysis and Urban Economic—focuses on the built environment and land-use policy.  The course combines readings from the real estate economics academic literature with conversations by commercial real estate professionals to offer GSD students an opportunity to learn how to measure, evaluate and understand real estate market forces—trends and cycles.   These factors shape and determine urban planning and urban form, and the success or failure of an architect’s/designer’s/urban planner’s vision or project. 

The course addresses two questions:
1. How do urban land and real estate markets function in the global macro-economy and,
2. How should a designer/developer/planner/investor evaluate these markets both with regard to the macro and the micro aspects of a specific project?