The Urban and Regional Planning Program at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning is hiring a practice track faculty member at the rank of adjunct practice instructor. We are looking for someone with significant professional experience in real estate development work to advance the mission of the Real Estate Initiative and teach a real estate course in the Winter 2027 semester (January 13 - May).
The instructor would teach an existing undergraduate and graduate elective course, Shaping Development: Markets, Power, and Equity (URP 492 and 592). Who has the power to shape real estate development and what does it mean for a development to be equitable? This course examines development as a complex interplay of social, economic, and political forces and how they interact to determine equitable or inequitable outcomes. It considers how actors such as residents, developers, governments, and other stakeholders deploy their power to influence what gets built, where, and for whom.
By the end of the course, students will have a stronger understanding of how development works, a more nuanced conception of equitable development, and knowledge of various equity-minded policy mechanisms. Overall, the course seeks to foster dynamic and reflective professionals equipped to navigate complex political landscapes and influence development outcomes for the better.
This course contributes to Taubman College's graduate Real Estate Development Certificate and undergraduate Real Estate Development minor, both of which focus on the making of well-designed, livable, and sustainable places that offer a high quality of life in mixed-use, compact, walkable, and transit-oriented built environments. The certificate gives students in any master's degree program at the university the opportunity to take a range of courses that deepen their knowledge and qualifications in real estate development and related fields. The minor allows any undergraduate to develop similar expertise in the real estate field. Both include foundational courses that most students in this elective would already have taken.