This course explores the impact that globalization has had on the design and development of urban housing and its implications for critical practice in Canada. Through the lens of critical practice, students will be exposed to cultural, political, economic and other factors that have an effect on the design of contemporary housing and associated living environments. This reading-intensive course will include discussion sessions led by the instructor and/or invited guests on one or more of the subject's core themes, augmented by comparative analysis of seminal housing projects located in major urban centres worldwide.