CEE 45Q Affordable Housing - A Social Entrepreneurship Startup

Spring 2001

Course Information

Instructors

Instructor: Prof. Boyd C. Paulson, Jr.
E-mail: paulson@stanford.edu
Telephone: 723-2235
Office: Terman 296
Office Hours: MW 1:00 - 3:00 PM

Instructor: Consult. Asst. Prof. Bill Behrman
E-mail: behrman@stanford.edu
Telephone: 725-1200
Office: Terman 390
Office Hours: M - F, call or email ahead

Course Web Site

www.stanford.edu/class/cee45q/

Description

This seminar uses the model of a social entrepreneurship startup to understand and address the complex social, economic, political, and design issues that underlie the housing affordability crises in places like the San Francisco Bay Area. Students will become familiar with housing needs, policies, and resources; learn about people most in need of housing; and examine organizations that work in affordable housing. With guidance from professionals on an Advisory Board organized to assist the seminar, students will target an affordable housing problem and perform research leading to a business plan for a venture to address it. With Center for Teaching and Learning input, students will prepare and make interim and final presentations to the Advisory Board. The seminar will develop skills in research, development of ideas, planning, organization, management, teamwork, presentation, and communication.

Prerequisites

Students are selected based upon an application. Priority is given to sophomores, but students from other years are admitted.

Texts

  1. No regular text. Readings will be in distributed in class or consist of on-line information identified in e-mail messages from the instructors.
  2. Students will use libraries, the Web, and industry sources for research.

Exams

None

Project

See project description for details of the team project. The key milestones of the project are listed below and on the course outline.

Date Milestone
Apr 25 1. Team consensus on proposed solution
May 14 2. Presentation of domain findings and initial business plan to advisory board
Jun 6 3. Presentation of final business plan and prototype to advisory board

Estimated Workload and Grading

Students will work in a series of small teams. In the early stages, the teams will regularly write brief memos summarizing their progress and will post their memos on the Web. In the later stages, the teams will produce the various parts of the business plan and develop a prototype. Students will be evaluated on the quality of their writing, their presentations, and their contributions in the team meetings.

Component % Time % Grade
Seminar participation and presentations 30 40
Reading and preparation 20 -
Research assignments and business plan 50 60
--- ---
100 100

Policy on late work (other than that excused for serious illness, etc.): 20% off per day late.

Last modified: 2001 Jul 10