Professional/Short course Housing

Content

The syllabus will typically include:

• the various forms of historical and contemporary building construction techniques; the diagnosis and remediation of common housing defects of public health significance
• the relationship between housing and health: accepted and emerging evidence; social inequalities and their influence on housing risk factors and health; housing condition variance geographically and across tenures
• area deprivation and social exclusion: Causes of neighbourhood decline (social, economic, government policies)
• indices of deprivation
• review of the efficacy of government regeneration policies past and present; legal basis for neighbourhood renewal; partnership working and community involvement in renewal/regeneration activities
• application of risk assessment techniques in characterising the health and safety risks associated with housing of varying construction types, age, tenure and occupancy
• utilisation of appropriate statutory guidance documents in quantifying risk; critical awareness of the uncertainties associated with risk assessment methodologies
• application of housing law in improving housing conditions: Knowledge and application of primary and secondary legislation; the utilisation of statutory guidance to inform and support decision making; statutory duties and powers; the efficacy of housing legislation in improving housing conditions and protecting public health
• consideration of the potential for elevated health and safety risks associated with multi-occupied housing in relation to matters such as fire, overcrowding and shared amenities; evaluation of the strategies and interventions available to eliminate/mitigate risk
• consideration of the features of sustainable housing and communities: carbon emissions and contributions to climate change; energy efficient housing; land use planning; transport planning; healthy environments; flooding; water supply and demand.

Study time

Contact hours: 40

Scheduled Learning: 24

Student Centred Learning: 86

Assessment

• A defended poster. This will be an individual assessment where you will be required to analyse public health data, assess risks to health and critically discuss available courses of action.
• A housing risk assessment and written assignment. The written assignment will be a critique of the process of undertaking an inspection/risk assessment and the system used to undertake the risk assessment.