Access to adequate housing is a continuous global challenge and a process often corrupted by political, social and economic exclusion and injustice. This master track focuses on key topics such as important principles of adequate housing provision and how to apply them in assessing existing policies. Students will learn how to design the best possible mechanisms that support the realisation of the 5A's Principles of Adequate Housing: availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and adaptability.
The Urban Housing, Equity and Social Justice programme is a master track within the MSc in Urban Management and Development, which offers students the opportunity to assess the provision of housing in relation to equity and socio-spatial justice. Equity in housing is seen as the role that policies and institutional frameworks play in recognising and meeting people's housing needs under their circumstances. Social justice in housing is concerned with ensuring that housing is universally considered a basic need and a human right. It strives to help realise housing rights and evaluate the redistribution of benefits including access to adequate housing within society.
Students of the master track will learn how rapid urbanisation processes trigger inequality, informality and injustice. The results of these developments in urban areas often manifest in informal settlements, displacement and resettlement in inappropriate locations, gentrification, spatial segregation and gated communities among other socio-spatial injustices. The master track also pays special attention to inclusive land governance aspects. The housing sector is a major contributor to global warming and climate change, and creating sustainable human settlements is vital. Thus, the master track incorporates sustainable building strategies that contribute to climate change adaptation, mitigation and housing resilience. Key topics addressed in the master track are assessed against the issues of gender inequality, poverty alleviation and urban livelihoods so that students may determine the role public, private, market and society actors play in the provision of housing.
In addition, the master track equips students with the ability to apply the 5A's Principles of Adequate Housing through different assessment tools such as case study analysis, housing ecosystem analysis, house value chain analysis, stakeholder analysis in the housing sector, housing needs assessment and climate change adaptation strategies in housing.
Why study Master Urban Housing, Equity and Social Justice
Access to adequate housing is a perpetual global challenge and a process often tainted by political, social and economic exclusion and injustice. In the majority of urban areas, especially in the Global South, the challenge continues to grow through a vicious cycle of inequality and injustice in the redistribution of housing opportunities causing housing poverty and the proliferation of slums. In this programme, you will gain the qualifications to become an urban development professional able to devise the best possible mechanisms that foster accessible, affordable, available, acceptable and adaptable housing.
Why study at IHS, Erasmus University Rotterdam?
Earn your MSc degree from a top 100 university
Known for its academic rigour and high quality of education, Erasmus University Rotterdam is consistently ranked in the top 3% of the world’s best universities.
Our teaching methods are unique
Alongside IHS teaching and research activities, our faculty members work in the field on real-life cases around the world. Challenges, learnings, and questions from these different contexts are brought back to the classroom and woven into our curriculum.
You apply everything you learn - no dry theory
Students learn through a blend of lectures, real-life case studies, discussions, debates, simulation environments, written assignments, and group work. Field visits and projects in Rotterdam and other Dutch cities provide first-hand exposure to local urban problems. Students have the option to complete their thesis fieldwork abroad and immerse themselves in a relevant urban context to collect data.
We offer a truly international and diverse environment
The IHS classroom is comprised of mid-level professionals and fresh graduates with rich and varied experiences from more than 45 countries. Typical backgrounds include architecture, engineering, planning, economics, social science, environmental science, and housing.
Study in Rotterdam - a hub of sustainable urban innovation
Iconic architecture, pioneering urban planning, and a celebrated multicultural population have thrust Rotterdam to the forefront of innovation and cultivation within the urban world.
Enjoy guest lecturers from UN-Habitat and other key stakeholders in the urban field
IHS works with global leaders in the field of urban development, including UN-Habitat, Cities Alliance and ICLEI as well as with leading universities in the Netherlands and around the world to ensure additional academic resources for our students.
What are some of the special features of this track?
Next to earning your MSc diploma from Erasmus University Rotterdam, an institution that is consistently ranked among the top 3% of the world’s best universities, studying the Urban Housing, Equity and Social Justice track also means that you will get to:
Learn from an international team of housing specialists
The team teaching in this track consists of highly experienced international housing experts who are also actively involved in ongoing real-life projects.
Apply your learnings in a simulated environment
Students apply theories and concepts in practical workshops which are based on a fictional city in the Global South. This experiential learning approach allows students to apply their gained knowledge and skills to an ‘actual’ city in a playful manner.
Get access to a toolkit to assess adequate housing & housing justice
Staff in this track developed a framework called the ‘5A’s which serves as a toolkit to assess adequate housing and housing justice in practice. The principles of the concept are Availability, Accessibility, Affordability, Acceptability and Adaptability of housing.
Benefit from our network of high-profile guest lectures
Students enjoy lectures from are a variety of organisations such as UN-Habitat, the Centre for Affordable Housing in Africa, the Asian Coalition of Housing Rights and the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of TU-Delft. These sessions are also a great networking opportunity.
Conduct your thesis research in a new cultural context abroad
Students in this track have the possibility to conduct their master thesis fieldwork in specific housing-related contexts around the world. The specialisation team builds on deep-rooted collaborations with highly ranked universities and local and international NGOs and CBOs in various countries such as Thailand and India.
