Urban Economics

Course information

Learning outcomes

After the course, the student understands the main economic forces that lead to the existence of cities. The student is familiar with the theories related to the emergence of cities and their role on agglomeration, productivity, urban amenities, and congestion. The student is familiar with key/main models of urban economics and understands the determinants of urban land values, and how land values vary within and between cities. The student is familiar with methodologies to evaluate urban characteristics, and the challenges of these methodologies. The student is familiar with the role and challenges related to housing and urban policies.

Content

Formation of cities, urban labor markets and urban structure, land prices, housing and urban policies.

Teacher

Tuukka Saarimaa

Study material

To be announced in course syllabus, MyCourses and lectures.

Workload

160 hours (6 cr). The workload per activity type will be announced in the course syllabus.

Prerequisites

Recommended prerequisites: Principles of economics or equivalent.

Evaluation

The assessment methods and criteria will be announced in course syllabus.

Teaching time and location

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected  

3. From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
    

   Exam instructions at the Open University

The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.

Further information

Equivalences to other courses: Urban Economics D (REC-E3500)
 

Online learning environment for the course  

MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.

Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses

More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below: 
Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 8.12.2025 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 12.1.2026 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

The number of participants is limited to 8.

This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Business.

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules

Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication

You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID

Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.

Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication