"Sessional Lecturer in Urban Studies"

NYU Sydney is seeking a lecturer to teach the Urban Studies course 'City Lab: Exploring Issues of the Housing Crisis in Sydney' to undergraduate students during the University of Sydney's Semester 1 period between February-May 2026.

Responsibilities of the instructor include preparing and leading the weekly class sessions, course coordination, writing assignments, and grading. Lecturers are paid at competitive casual academic rates aligned with local enterprise agreements. In addition to their teaching duties, they will be paid to attend periodic meetings and training, including an induction meeting during the orientation week prior to the start of the semester.

Classes take place at the University of Sydney's Camperdown/Darlington Campus.

Course Description: At the core of Urban Studies is learning in action. This City Lab will provide students with critical learning experience through site visits, in-class discussions, guest speakers and meetings with key urban policy analysts, public officials, and non-profit leaders. It will provide students with the opportunity to conduct policy-relevant research on urban themes. The focus of this subject is to obtain an understanding and application of urban planning to Sydney, in the context of Australian federal and state laws, and issues that impact on Sydney’s urban planning. Over the course of the semester, students will address challenges and solve problems confronting Sydney today. Students will engage in readings and discussions about key issues, facing urban residents, planners, policymakers, activists, and non-governmental organizations.

City Lab focuses on Sydney’s acute housing supply and affordability crisis. This course explores the relationship between urban development and housing policy in the city. Students will learn about the history of housing policy in Sydney, analyze current housing issues, examine potential solutions to the housing crisis, and prepare a final policy paper of 20 pages analyzing a housing problem and proposing solutions to it.