Apart from material on the reading list (or list of references), you might like to consult the following websites:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Department of Housing and Urban Development (USA)
The U.S. National Association of Home Builders
Call It Home

List of housing resources on the net:
Housing resources #1
Housing resources #2
Housing resources #3

In this fourth-year undergraduate seminar I use residential landscapes as a prism through which to view the development of housing in North American cities in the twentieth century. I devise a different assignment each year. This usually involves field research in the area of Hamilton, Ontario.

The class project for 1990 was published as "The Making of a Working-Class Suburb in Hamilton's East End, 1900-1945" (with Matt Sendbuehler). Journal of Urban History 20, 4 (1994): 486-511, and can be viewed by clicking HERE. In 1996 one of the students in this class turned his knowledge into a part-time summer job. For details see "Wonder as you wander".
 

This course is concerned with housing in North American cities, seen from a geographical and historical point of view. Urban landscapes will be used as a way of introducing a systematic discussion of the changing ways in which housing has been produced, regulated, sold, financed, and used.

The course will consist of lectures, together with seminar discussions which will begin in week 5 (Oct. 9). The schedule of lecture topics is listed below. Discussions will focus on the questions indicated thus "*". For details see over.

The textbook is John Miron, ed., House, Home and Community. Progress in Housing Canadians 1945-1986 (McGill-Queen's University Press, 1993). Other readings will be assigned.

Information on the assignments will be distributed separately.

Class discussions:
Each student will be responsible for presenting information, and leading discussion, on one of the topics listed above. The format will be that of a debate. A pair of students will be responsible for leading discussion, with one student taking one point of view and another the opposite view. Students will be assigned topics in week 2.

Those two students who are responsible for leading discussion each week will be expected to prepare, photocopy, and distribute a summary of the main arguments that they present to the group. This summary can be partly in point form, and should not exceed one, single-spaced, typewritten page.

Every student is expected to have read the required readings for each week, and to contribute to the discussion.

The contribution of each student to these topical discussions will be assessed in two ways:

1. Contribution to class discussions over the course of the term (10%)
2. Presentation of material pertaining to assigned topic
1. handout (5%)
2. verbal summary and discussion (5%)

The following list of required readings is organized by topic. It includes most of the chapters in the text (John Miron, ed., House, Home and Community) as well as additional materials.

* Two-hour reserve. These should be read by everyone.
** Not on reserve unless marked. These should be read by those who are responsible for leading discussion on the topic in question.

Note that some items are relevant in more than one section and are listed more than once. Items which are not marked are for reference. A list of general reference materials is included at the end.

1. WHAT CAN WE READ FROM THE LANDSCAPE OF HOUSING?

* Pierce Lewis. 1979. "Axioms for Reading the Landscape" in Donald Meinig, ed. The Interpretation of Ordinary Landscapes. Toronto: Oxford University Press. A general guide to reading landscapes.

* Pierce Lewis. 1994. "Common Houses, Cultural Spoor." in K.E. Foote, et al. Re-reading Cultural Geography. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. Concerned chiefly with the architectural features of houses. Read pages 82-84, and 104-108 with particular care.

* Richard Harris. 1996. "Reading Sanborns for the Spoor of the Owner-Builder, 1890s-1950s." in A. Adams and S. McMurry, eds. Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture 6 Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press (forthcoming). How to infer the building process from residential landscapes up to the 1950s.

* Edward Relph. "Planning the Segregated City, 1945-75." in The Modern Urban Landscape. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1987, chapter 8. Deals with modern, 'planned', landscapes of housing.

* Doug Saunders. 1996. "What is a House" The Globe and Mail Aug. 10, 1996. Section D, pages 1 and 2. [NOT ON RESERVE: available in class]

2. OVERVIEW: HOUSE AND HOME

* Larry S. Bourne. "The Changing Settlement Environment of Housing." Chapter 16 in TEXT. The urban context of housing in Canada.

* Richard Harris. "Housing". Chapter 14 in Trudi Bunting and Pierre Filion, eds. Canadian Cities in Transition. Toronto: Oxford University Press. A broad overview of the housing market and housing policy in Canada.

* Richard Harris and Geraldine Pratt. 1993. "The meaning of Home, Homeownership, and Public Policy." Chapter 15 in Larry S. Bourne and David Ley, eds. The Changing Social Geography of Canadian Cities. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. Pages 281-286 only: discussion of the meaning of home.

* John R. Gold and Margaret M. Gold. 1993. "'Home at Last!' building societies, home ownership and the imagery of English suburban promotion in the interwar years." in John R. Gold, ed., Place Promotion. The Use of Publicity and Marketing to Sell Towns and Regions. New York: Wiley. A subtle, eloquent interpretation of imagery of the ideal home in Britain (and, broadly, Canada).

Larry S. Bourne. 1981. The Geography of Housing. London: Winston. A text, valuable as reference.

3. PERSPECTIVES ON THE HOUSING MARKET

* David Gordon, ed. Problems in Political Economy. An Urban Perspective. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1971. Pages 1-11 provide a concise general overview of the radical/marxist, conservative and liberal perspectives, while pages 355-363 focus on housing.

* Richard Harris. "Housing". Chapter 14 in Bunting and Filion, Canadian Cities in Transition. pages 351-355 only. Summarizes the main perspectives, including feminism.

* Peter Marcuse. 1986. "The Myth of the Benevolent State" chapter 14 in R. Bratt et al. eds. Critical Perspectives on Housing. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. A forceful statement of a radical point of view.

* Ann R. Markuson. 1981. "City Spatial Structure, Women's Household Work and National Urban Policy." in C.R. Stimpson, et al., eds. Women and the American City. Chicago: Chicago University Press, pp. 20-41.

* Jo Little. 1994. Gender, Planning and the Political Process. Tarrytown, N.Y.: Pergamon, Chapter 3: "Women and Land Use Planning". Indicates the sorts of questions feminists ask about cities.

** Dolores Hayden. "What would a non-sexist city be like? Speculations on Housing, Urban Design, and Human Work." chapter 13 in Bratt et al., eds. Critical Perspectives. An influential feminist critique of urban design.

** Damaris Rose and C. LeBourdais. 1986. "Changing Conditions of Female Single Family Parenthood in Montreal's Inner City and Suburban Neighbourhoods." Urban Resources 3:45-52. Evidence on the importance of city and suburban resources for female single parents. ON RESERVE.

** Veronica Strong-Boag. 1991. "Home Dreams. Women and the Suburban Experiment in Canada, 1945-1960" Canadian Historical Review 72: 471-504. Discusses how women experienced postwar suburbs. Compare with Jo Little.

** Karen Franck. 1988. "Women's Housing and Neighbourhood Needs. " Chapter 16 in Huttman and van Vliet, Handbook of Housing. A summary of evidence on many of the housing issues raised by feminists.

Marion Roberts. 1991. Living in a Man-Made World. Gender Assumptions in Modern Housing Design. London: Routledge. An historical analysis of house design in Britain.

Dolores Hayden. 1984. Redesigning the American Dream. The Future of Housing, Work, and Family Life. New York: Norton. A wide-ranging critique of current housing, with alternatives.

4. FIELD TRIP

See the reading list for the first topic (landscapes)

5 and 6. TRENDS IN FEDERAL AND MUNICIPAL ACTIVITY

* J. Bossons. "Regulation and the Cost of Housing." Chapter 7 in TEXT. An overview of the ways municipal governments in Canada regulate land development and use.

* Richard Harris. "Housing". Chapter 14 in Bunting and Filion, Canadian Cities in Transition. pages 367-373 only. Brief summary of postwar Canadian federal housing policies.

* J. Patterson. "Housing and Community Development Policies." Chapter 19 in TEXT. Overview of federal policies which are indirectly related to housing.

* John Miron. "On Progress in Housing Canadians." in TEXT. Pages 15-17 only.

John Bacher. 1993. Keeping to the Marketplace. The Evolution of Canadian Housing Policy. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. The most scholarly and complete history of Canadian federal activity in the housing field.

7. SUPPLY, DEMAND, AND FILTERING

* J. Miron. "Demographic and Economic Factors in Housing Demand." Chapter 2 in TEXT. A neo-classical interpretation of changes in household demand in Canada.

* D. Rose and M. Wexler. "Postwar Social and Economic Changes and Housing Adequacy". Chapter 14 in TEXT. A broadly structural interpretation, emphasizing housing problems.

* P.A. Streich. "The Affordability of Housing in Postwar Canada." Chapter 15 in TEXT. Focuses on a demand-side issue of increasing concern in recent decades.

* George Fallis. "The Suppliers of Housing". Chapter 5 in TEXT.

* A. Skaburskis. "Net Changes in Canada's Postwar Housing Stock." Chapter 9 in TEXT. A descriptive account of the ways in which housing units are gained and lost.

* Hamilton-Wentworth (Regional Municipality of). 1996. Hamilton-Wentworth Housing Statement 1995. Section A: Planning for Growth. Hamilton, May 1996. "Executive Summary", pp. i-v.

E.G. Moore and A. Skaburskis. "Measuring Transitions in the Housing Stock." Chapter 10 in TEXT. Discusses problems in measuring what happens to the existing housing stock.

John R. Miron. 1988. Housing in Postwar Canada. Demographic Change, Household Formation and Housing Demand. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. A comprehensive analysis from a neo-classical point of view of housing demand.

Leland Burns and Leo Grebler. 1986. The Future of Housing Markets. New York: Plenum. An analysis of how expected changes in demand will shape housing markets.

* Larry S. Bourne. 1981. The Geography of Housing. London: Winston. Pages 149-154. A concise overview and assessment of the filtering idea.

** Edgar O. Olsen. 1973. "A competitive theory of the housing market." Chapter 19 in J. Pynoos et al., eds., Housing Urban America. A defense of filtering, from a neo-classical point of view.

** Henry Aaron. 1972. "Home Delivery. How and for Whom?" Chapter 10 in Shelter and Subsidies. Who Benefits from Federal Housing Policies? Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. A critique of filtering, and an alternative.

** Ira Lowry. 1960. "Filtering and Housing Standards: A Conceptual Analysis." Land Economics. 36: 362-370. An influential critique of filtering.

** Anthony Downs. 1969. "Housing the Urban Poor. The Economics of Various Strategies." American Economic Review 59.

8. GENTRIFICATION AND NEIGHBOURHOOD CHANGE

* G. Fallis. "The Suppliers of Housing", pp. 87-89. Chapter 5 in TEXT. The renovation industry.

* Neil Smith. 1986. "Gentrification, the Frontier, and the Restructuring of Urban Space." Chapter 2 in Neil Smith and Peter Williams, Gentrification of the City. London: Allen and Unwin. An overview of different explanations of gentrification.

* Damaris Rose. 1989. "A Feminist Perspective on Employment Restructuring and Gentrification: The Case of Montreal." Chapter 6 in Jennifer Wolch and Michael Dear, eds. The Power of Geography. How Territory Shapes Social Life. Boston: Unwin Hyman. An attempt to transcend 'demand' versus 'supply' explanations.

Chris Hamnett. 1991. "The Blind Men and the Elephant. The Explanation of Gentrification." Transactions, Institute of British Geographers 16, 2: 173-189. An overview of explanations.

David Ley. 1988. Social Upgrading in Six Canadian Inner Cities. The Canadian Geographer. 32,1: 31-46. Evidence on the extent and causes of gentrification across Canada.

* Peter Williams and Neil Smith. 1986. "From 'renaissance' to 'restructuring' " Chapter 10 in Neil Smith and Peter Williams, Gentrification of the City. London: Allen and Unwin. Pages 219-223 only. A brief discussion of policy options with respect to gentrification.

** Damaris Rose and C. LeBourdais. 1986. "Changing Conditions of Female Single Family Parenthood in Montreal's Inner City and Suburban Neighbourhoods." Urban Resources 3:45-52. Evidence on the importance of city and suburban resources for female single parents. ON RESERVE.

** Joe R. Feagin and Robert Parker. 1989. "Gentrification and Redevelopment in Central Cities." Chapter 5 in J. Feagin and R. Parker, Building American Cities. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

** Richard LeGates and Chester Hartman. 1986. "The Anatomy of Displacement in the United States." Chapter 9 in Neil Smith and Peter Williams, Gentrification of the City. London: Allen and Unwin. Examines the main negative effect of gentrification.

9a. HOUSING FINANCE

* R. Harris and D. Ragonetti. 1995. "Where Credit is Due. The Sources of Residential Mortgage Financing in Canada, 1900-1954." Manuscript, McMaster University. Deals with Canadian trends up to 1954, with special reference to Hamilton.

* J. Poapst. "Financing of Postwar Housing." Chapter 6 in TEXT. A factual summary of postwar developments in Canada.

* R. Harris. "It Flopped in Peoria. Lenders and Borrowers Resist the F.H.A., 1934-1950*. Manuscript, McMaster University. A criticism of extensive consumer debt, of the sort promoted since the 1930s by both US and Canadian govenrments.

Michael Doucet and John Weaver. 1991. "Crafting Home Finance." Chapter 6 in Doucet and Weaver, Housing the North American City. An overview of historical trends, with specific reference to Ontario.

9b. HOUSING TENURE

* M. Steele "Incomes, Prices, and Tenure Choice" Chapter 3 in TEXT. The advantages of home ownership, federal policies in Canada, and relation to income and wealth.

* J.D. Hulchanski "New Forms of Owning and Renting" Chapter 4 in TEXT. See, especially, the discussion of condominiums and co-ops.

*Richard Harris and Chris Hamnett. 1987. "The Myth of the Promised Land. The Social Diffusion of Home Ownership in Britain and North America." Annals, Association of American Geographers 77, 2: 173-90. An overview of trends, and social differences, in home ownership over the past century.

Michael Doucet and John Weaver. 1991. "The Social Contours of Homeownership." Chapter 7 in Doucet and Weaver, Housing the North American City. An overview of historical trends, with specific reference to Hamilton.

** Leland S. Burns. 1988. "Home Ownership Makes a Better Society" Outlook of the Federal Home Loan Bank System Oct. 1988: 7-9. Yes! ON RESERVE

** Jim Kemeny. 1986. "A Critique of Homeownership." Chapter 16 in Bratt et al., eds, Critical Perspectives on Housing. No!

** Michael Doucet and John Weaver. 1991. "Launching the Will to Possess. North American Property Ownership as a Cultural Phenomenon." Chapter 4 in Doucet and Weaver, Housing the North American City. Argue that the desire for home ownership is deeply rooted.

** Richard Harris and Geraldine Pratt. 1993. "The meaning of Home, Homeownership, and Public Policy." Chapter 15 in Larry S. Bourne and David Ley, eds. The Changing Social Geography of Canadian Cities. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. The signfiicance of home ownership, and its treatment in Canadian federal policy.

** Matthew Edel, et al. 1984. "Introduction." Shaky Palaces. Homeownership and Social Mobility in Boston's Suburbanization. New York: Columbia University Press. Criticizes homeownership for workers as a poor investment.

10. MORTGAGE (feature movie)

11. LAND DEVELOPMENT AND PRIVATE LAND USE CONTROLS

* Richard Harris. "Land Developers and Development". In N. Shumsky, ed. 1997. American Cities and Suburbs. An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland. A brief overview of historical change.

* Michael Doucet and John Weaver. 1991. "Modern Residential Development Practises." Chapter 3 in Doucet and Weaver, Housing the North American City. A full overview of postwar trends, with specific reference to Hamilton. See also pages 99-102 on deed restrictions up to WWII.

James Lorimer. 1978. "The Entrepreneurs" and "Creating the Corporate Suburbs." Chapters 1 and 4 in J. Lorimer, The Developers. Toronto: Lorimer. A critical outline of the character and emergence of Canada's development industry.

* Philip Langdon. 1988. "A Good Place to Live." Atlantic (March 1988): 39-60. A discussion of new, master-planned residential communities and 'neotraditional' architecture.

** Marc Weiss. 1987. "Community Builders and Urban Planners." Chapter 3 in Marc Weiss, The Rise of the Community Builders. The American Real Estate Industry and American Land Planning. New York: Columbia University Press. An influential study which sympathetically documented the emergence of private land development controls before WWII.

** John Sewell. 1984. "Don Mills". Chapter 4 in J. Sewell, The Shape of the City. Toronto Struggles with Modern Planning. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. The most influential privately-planned suburban development in postwar Canada.

** Mike Davis. 1990. City of Quartz. Chapter 3. A critical discussion of the recent effects of new types of private development controls and homeowner associations. See, especially, pages 160-169.

** Joel Garreau. 1991. "Phoenix". Chapter 6 in Garreau, Edge City. A more balanced, generally favourable view of new forms of private development controls.

Paul Knox. 1992. "The Packaged Landscapes of Post-Suburban America." in J.W.R. Whitehand and P.J. Larkham. eds. Urban Landscapes. International Perspectives. New York: Routledge. An example of a recent (privately) Planned Unit Development (PUD).

12. RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION

* J. McKellar. "Building Technology and the Production Process." Chapter 8 in TEXT. A description of postwar changes in the residential construction industry in Canada.

* Richard Harris. 1997. "Residential Development." in W. van Vliet, ed. Encyclopedia of Housing. New York: Garland (forthcoming).

* Barry Checkoway. 1986. "Large Builders, Federal Housing Programs, and Postwar Suburbanization." Chapter 6 in R. Bratt et al., Critical Perspectives on Housing. Discusses how the growth of large builders was prompted by the US government.

Clayton Research Associates. 1988. Summary Report. The Changing Housing Industry in Canada. Ottawa: CMHC. See also the associated series of background reports.

* Tom Schlesinger and Mark Erlich. 1986. "Housing. The Industry Capitalism Didn't Forget." Chapter 7 in Bratt et al., eds. Critical Perspectives on Housing. Argues that the construction industry is more efficient than generally supposed.

** Christopher Sims. 1973. "Efficiency in the Construction Industry." Chapter 29 in J. Pynoos, et al., eds. Housing Urban America. Discusses the meaning of efficiency in construction.

** Great Britain. Ministry of Works. 1994. Methods of Building in the USA. London: HMSO. A rare, outsiders view of homebuilding in North America, which emphasizes its relative efficiency. ON RESERVE.

** F.H. Ludwig. 1994. "The Efficiency of the Small Builder." in Proceedings of the National Conference on Postwar Housing. A rare defense of the small builder, of general relevance. ON RESERVE.

** U.S. National Commission on Urban Problems. 1968. "Reducing Construction Costs." Part V, Chapter 2 in Building the American City. Report to Congress and to the President of the United States. Washington D.C.: USGPO. Summarizes evidence in favour of large-scale production. ON RESERVE.

Miles Colean. c.1949. "Organizing the Construction Industry for Mass Markets." Washington, D.C.: Producers' Council. A brief, perceptive overview of the situation in the late 1940s.

Ned Eichler. 1982. "Building." in N. Eichler,The Merchant Builders. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. An account of large-scale building by one of the biggest builders in the US.

Leo Grebler. 1950. "Efficiency of Housing Production." Chapter 2 in Production of New Housing. New York: Social Science Research Council.

Leo Grebler. 1973. The Large Builder. Growth of a New Phenomenon. New York: Praeger. Discusses both the strengths and problems of large-scale operation.

Burnham Kelly. 1959. Design and the Production of Houses. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Sherman Maisel. 1953. Housebuilding in Transition. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

13. OWNER BUILDERS AND DIY

* Richard Harris. "Owner-Building" in W. Van Vliet, Encyclopedia of Housing. New York: Garland (forthcoming).

* Jim Duke and Sue MacLeod. 1995. "Self-Help Houising: The Canadian Experience." Canadian Housing 12, 1: 8-10. A brief summary, focusing on recent Canadian self-help housing.

* Robert Kolodny. 1986. "The Emergence of Self-Help as a Housing Strategy for the Urban Poor." Chapter 26 in Bratt, et al., eds. Critical Perspectives on Housing. Newer forms of self-help, especially multi-unit projects, in the U.S.

Richard Harris. 1996. Unplanned Suburbs. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. Chapter 8: "A Romance of the Common Life." Owner-building in the first half of this century, with specific reference to Toronto.

Jack McLaughlin. 1981. The House-Building Experience. New York: Van Nostrand. A useful, fairly recent overview. Available at Hamilton public library, but not at McMaster.

* Leland S. Burns. 1988. "Hope for the Homeless in the U.S. Lessons from the Third World." Cities 5: 33-40. Argues that self-help could be more widely used in North America.

**Tony Schuman. 1986. "The Agony and the Equity. A Critique of Self-Help Housing." Chapter 27 in Bratt et al., eds. Critical Perspectives on Housing. Summarises some of the more important criticisms of self-help housing.

** Peter M. Ward. 1982. "Introduction and Purpose." Chapter 1 in Peter M. Ward, ed. Self-Help Housing. A Critique. London: Mansell. Discusses the promotion of self-help housing in a Third World context, and raises general theoretical issues.

** Hans Harms. "Historical Perspectives on the Practise and Purpose of Self-Help Housing." in P. Ward, ed. Self-Help Housing. A Critique. London. Mansell. A favourable assessment.

** R. Harris. "It Flopped in Peoria. Lenders and Borrowers Resist the F.H.A., 1934-1950". Manuscript, McMaster University. Argues for aided self-help in a North American context, with reference to European precedents. ON RESERVE.

John F.C. Turner and Robert Fichter. eds. Freedom to Build. New York: Macmillan. A collection of readings favourable to self-help. Turner is the most influential writer on the subject.

John F.C. Turner. "Uncontrolled Urban Settlement: Problems and Policies." Chapter 35 in G. Breese, ed., The City in Newly Developing Countries. New York: Prentice Hall. The most influential article on self-help housing (Third World context.)

Excerpts from many are cited above. Only those that contain material listed above as required reading are on reserve.

John S. Adams. 1988. Housing America in the 1980s. New York: Russell Sage. A useful compendium of information.

John Bacher. 1993. Keeping to the Marketplace. The Evolution of Canadian Housing Policy. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. The most scholarly and complete history of Canadian federal activity in the housing field.

Keith Bassett and John Short. 1980. Housing and Residential Structure. Alternative Approaches. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul. A text.

Larry S. Bourne. 1981. The Geography of Housing. London: Winston. A text, with some Canadian Material.

R. Bratt et al. eds. 1986. Critical Perspectives on Housing. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. An excellent collection of readings from a broadly 'radical' point of view.

Michael Doucet and John Weaver. 1991. Housing the North American City. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. The best historical overview of trends in the housing market in North America, with specific reference to Hamilton!

Hamilton-Wentworth (Regional Municipality of). 1996. Hamilton-Wentworth Housing Statement 1995. Section A: Planning for Growth. Hamilton, May 1996.

Dolores Hayden. 1984. Redesigning the American Dream. The Future of Housing Work and Family Life. New York: Norton. A wide-ranging critique of current housing, with alternatives.

Elizabeth Huttman and Willem van Vliet, eds. 1988. Handbook of Housing and the Built Environment in the United States. New York: Greenwood. An American reference work.

John R. Miron. 1988. Housing in Postwar Canada. Demographic Change, Household Formation and Housing Demand. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. A comprehensive analysis from a neo-classical point of view of housing demand.

David Owen. 1991. The Walls Around Us. A Thinking Person's Guide to How a House Works. New York: Random House. A readable introduction to many of the key elements of modern housebuilding technology.

Jon Pynoos et al., eds., 1973. Housing Urban America. Chicago: Aldine. Although dated, this still contains many useful analytical articles.

J. Sewell. 1994. Houses and Homes. Housing for Canadians. Toronto: Lorimer

N. Shumsky. ed. 1997. American Cities and Suburbs. An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland (forthcoming).

C.R. Stimpson, et al., eds. Women and the American City. Chicago: Chicago University Press. An early, influential collection of feminist writings on housing and cities.

Willem van Vliet. 1997. Encyclopedia of Housing. New York: Garland. (forthcoming).

Gwendolyn Wright. 1981. Building the Dream. A Social History of Housing in America. New York: Pantheon. A general social history of housing, incorporating some feminist arguments.

Assignment #1: INTERPRETING A LANDSCAPE

Length: 1500-2000 words, plus photographs and a map
Due date: Week 4: Oct. 2
Weight: 20 percent of final grade

The first assignment encourages you to 'read' the urban residential landscape, using the evidence of your senses (primarily sight). For this you should visit the area shown on the attached map, to the east and west of Fruitland Road, and specifically between Dewitt Road and Jones Road, from the lake shore to the QEW, in Stoney Creek.

The area in question contains blocks of housing that were developed at different times, in different ways, by different building, and for different types of occupants. Its appearance can tell us much about the process of development, and also about the nature and extent of government regulation. You are asked to answer the following questions.

1. In which order were the different parts of this area developed? (Be as specific as you can about when different sections or blocks were probably built up.)



2. What sort of builder/developer was responsible for each of the different phases of development?



3. What sorts of people (in terms of their age, ethnicity, income, housing tenure) live in the homes built in each of these phases?

Guidelines
You should support all of your assertions and inferences with reference to the present appearance of the area. You should try to document as many of these assertions as possible, using photographs. As a rough guide, I suggest you use 12-15 photographs. You may refer only to that information which you have gathered by visiting and observing the area. In interpreting your observations you should refer to course readings, together with relevant material presented in lectures, for weeks 1-3.

You must include a map which shows the location of your area in relation to the present built-up area of the Hamilton region. On this map you should show (e.g. by colour-coding) the various phases of development.

Background
To help you to get a sense of the area, and to provide you with some clues about the area, you should consult some maps and aerial photographs that are on display in the map library. These include:

(i) subdivision plans for "Orchard Beach", Fruitland Beach", "Lakeland", "Lakeview Estates" (phases 1 and 2)

(ii) a base map (for the area west of Fruitland road only) published by the Corporation of the City of Stoney Creek, 1988.

(iii) aerial photographs for 1985 (sheet #83) and 1990 (sheets 186 and 188)

Although these maps and photographs should provide you with clues about what to look for, you must not refer to them in your paper.

Assignment #2

Length: approx. 3500 words
Due date: Week 12 (Nov. 27)
Weight: 30 percent of final grade

In this assignment you are asked to write an essay on the issue on which you helped lead a class discussion. For class discussion you must take one side or the other. In the essay you are free to develop any point of view that you wish, and you should consider both/all sides to the issue.

Guidelines

1. You must read, and use, all of the references on the reading list that pertain to your topic.



2. In addition, you should identify and use several other readings. (HINT: The references contained in items that are on the reading list are an obvious place to find additional materials. In addition, check the indexes of the reference works at the end of the reading list.)



3. You may answer your question with respect to the Canadian OR U.S. urban housing market, OR both. However, you must make it clear early in your essay which of these three options you are adopting.



4. In general, it will be greatly to your advantage to select, as your essay topic, the question on which you were asked to help lead class discussion. However, with the prior permission of the instructor, you may select a related topic or question.