According to the Wisconsin State Journal, UW–Madison’s Wisconsin School of Business has added a graduate program focusing on housing affordability and sustainability. The move comes in response to the citywide and nationwide housing shortage and affordability crisis.
Housing affordability will be defined in the program with the threshold set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which stipulates no household should spend more than 30% of its income on living expenses.
Sustainable development will be defined as the pursuit of homebuilding in areas that make sense environmentally, with products that have minimal climate impact.
A program prototype will have a soft launch this fall in UW–Madison’s Department of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics and will be officially rolled out next year.
The program will cover two semesters, offering 12 credits with classes centered on housing equity, housing justice, affordable housing finance complexities, and green development. It will also ultimately include an internship requirement. The Department of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics is working to establish connections with local housing nonprofits and agencies for future internship programs.
Undergraduates may also be allowed to take classes in the program, space permitting.
