* TA strike significantly reduced course load (2nd midterm and final removed essay component and became online multiple choice)
* Discussions were mandatory and while not particularly useful to do well in the course, they were great environments for... discussion!
* Lens' lectures were always engaging and brought some new element each day
* Focus essentially a history of housing, roadway, and development practices and policies in America from a social justice point of view.

I wish I liked this class more. Something about it was off though and I just could not pay attention at all. Maybe it was all the text on the slides, maybe it was too early in the morning, maybe I was confused by the material a bit? but I didn't get as much out of this class as I had hoped. Prof Lens is super fun though and I would definitely recommend giving this class a try because he's definitely one of the better lecturers in public affairs. The workload was fine; my TA Lindsey was super helpful too.

Lectures were recorded and Professor Lens was an engaging lecturer. He has a lot of passion for the subject, which shows in the material he covers and the readings he chooses. However, when he lectures he was prone to go on tangents, especially when students asked questions and his slides are almost exactly what he says in class. Usually, it was best to attend the section to clarify what topics would be covered on exams, but they were definitely all included in the lecture slides. He's also very accommodating if you reach out early.

Loved this class! Professor Lens can get a little distracted/unorganized during lectures, but he is a great guy who is clearly passionate about the material. He has a chill attitude and makes the class engaging.