Master in Urban Housing and Land Justice: Equitable Access to Sustainable Land, Housing & Services

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Land and shelter remain unmet basic needs for many, with growing global land inequality fuelling housing disparities and limited access to services. This master track focuses on understanding, applying, and evaluating how the right to land, housing and urban services can be achieved.

The study programme in a nutshell

Land and shelter remain unmet basic needs for many, with growing global land inequality fuelling housing disparities and limited access to services. This master track focuses on understanding, applying, and evaluating how the right to land, housing and urban services can be achieved. The programme will theoretically review and approach housing, land justice, and injustice complexities and visit its practical implications, real-life outcomes, and consequences while using a wide range of teaching methodologies such as lectures, participatory discussions, educational games, excursions, group exercises and workshops.

Why this programme

Urban Housing & Land Justice

Land and shelter remain unmet basic needs for many, with growing global land inequality fuelling housing disparities and limited access to services. Unequal land access underlies pressing societal issues, including housing injustice. The challenge of adequate housing persists globally, as vulnerable groups face displacement and limited infrastructure, while non-profitable land uses like affordable housing are marginalized. This exclusivity affects global urban access to land, housing, and services due to ongoing commodification. Addressing both housing and land justice aligns with shared societal goals outlined in the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thus, the master track will focus on understanding, applying, and evaluating how the right to land, housing and urban services can be achieved.

What are some of the special features of this track?

Apart from earning your MSc diploma from Erasmus University Rotterdam, an institution that is consistently ranked among the top 3% of the world’s best universities, studying the Ubran Housing and Land Justice track also means that you will get to:

Learn from an international team of housing specialists

The team teaching in this track consists of highly experienced international housing experts who are also actively involved in ongoing real-life projects.

Get access to a toolkit to assess adequate housing & housing justice

Staff in this track developed a framework called the ‘5A’s which serves as a toolkit to assess adequate housing and housing justice in practice. The principles of the concept are Availability, Accessibility, Affordability, Acceptability and Adaptability of housing.

Benefit from our network of high-profile guest lectures

Students enjoy lectures from a variety of organisations such as UN-Habitat, the Centre for Affordable Housing in Africa, the Asian Coalition of Housing Rights and the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of TU-Delft.

Conduct your thesis research in a new cultural context abroad

Students in this track have the possibility to conduct their master thesis fieldwork in specific housing-related contexts around the world. The specialisation team builds on deep-rooted collaborations with highly ranked universities and local and international NGOs and CBOs in various countries such as Thailand and India.

Apply your learnings in a simulated environment

Students apply theories and concepts in practical workshops based on a fictional city in the Global South of the North. This experiential learning approach allows students to apply their gained knowledge and skills to an ‘actual’ city in a playful manner.

Why study at IHS, Erasmus University Rotterdam?

Earn your MSc degree from a top 100 university

Known for its academic rigours and high quality of education, Erasmus University Rotterdam is consistently ranked in the top 3% of the world’s best universities.

Our teaching methods are unique

Alongside IHS teaching and research activities, our faculty members work in the field on real-life cases around the world. Challenges, learnings, and questions from these different contexts are brought back to the classroom and woven into our curriculum.

You apply everything you learn

Students learn through a blend of lectures, real-life case studies, discussions, debates, simulation environments, written assignments, and group work. Field visits and projects in Rotterdam and other Dutch cities provide first-hand exposure to local urban problems. Students have the option to complete their thesis fieldwork abroad and immerse themselves in a relevant urban context to collect data.

We offer a truly international and diverse environment

The IHS classroom comprises mid-level professionals and fresh graduates with rich and varied experiences from more than 45 countries. Typical backgrounds include architecture, engineering, planning, economics, social science, environmental science, and housing.

Study in Rotterdam - a hub of sustainable urban innovation

Iconic architecture, pioneering urban planning, and a celebrated multicultural population have thrust Rotterdam to the forefront of innovation and cultivation within the urban world.

Enjoy guest lecturers from UN-Habitat and other key stakeholders in the urban field

IHS works with global leaders in the field of urban development, including UN-Habitat, Cities Alliance and ICLEI, and with leading universities in the Netherlands and around the world to ensure additional academic resources for our students.