This is an advanced course in urban and regional economics. The field of urban and regional economics addresses a wide variety of questions and topics. At the most general level, the field introduces space into economic models and studies the location of economic activity. The course will use microeconomic models to address general and interesting questions about the existence and emergence of cities: why do cities exist and why do some grow more rapidly? Why do people live in cities? How do firms and households decide where to locate within given metropolitan areas? What determines the growth and size of a city? Which policies can modify the shape of a city? The course will also analyze the economic issues that arise because people and firms locate in cities. It will focus on many specific urban economic issues such as firm location, crime, transportation, housing, education, inner-city economic development and local government economics.