Researching Los Angeles's Housing Crisis

This course was developed as part of UCLA's Collegium of University Teaching Fellows, a competitive program in which selected doctoral students develop a research-focused course based on their own research interests. Inspired by Prasad's Problem-Solving Sociology (2021), I wanted the course to offer students an empirical understanding of the factors that contribute to the housing crisis in Los Angeles and a methodological understand of how research can be oriented around social problems. Drawing on my experience as a Graduate Mentor for UCLA's Undergraduate Research Center that oversees several scholarship programs for undergraduate research, I also wanted the course to prepare students to apply for these research scholarships. Ultimately, the class combined weekly modules on housing and urban scholarship with workshops on research skills, culminating in a research proposal that could be used to prepare for research scholarships or an honors thesis. I was thrilled to see students develop a range of projects, spanning topics from landlord practices to upzoning. If I had the opportunity to teach this course in a longer format (e.g. a 16 week semester rather than UCLA's 10 week quarters), I would incorporate more instruction on research methods, as students who enrolled had a variety of backgrounds in methods instruction.