Course overview and goals

• Why do some cities grow and others fail? Is it strategy or luck?
• What does a changing urban economic base mean for real estate development?
• How can you analyze a metropolitan economy to predict what types of real estate will be in demand?

The course is designed to link the changing economic form of urban and metropolitan areas to developments in real estate markets. In particular we will use Chicago as a lab for tracing the evolving urban economy and discuss how building prices and uses have changed to reflect changes in economic organization and industry structure. The course will also trace differences in older and newer cities in the U.S. as well as development in international locations. At the core of the course is the belief that you first need to understand the underlying economy of a place to be able to estimate the demand for real estate. As urban economist Wilbur Thompson once said "tell me your industries and I will tell you your future". The course will mix a use of analytical tools with case studies. Familiarity with basic microeconomics principles is required.