The professor is an engaging lecturer, and nice enough on a personal level. I've never loathed a class like this one, though. I've experienced my fair share of ideologues in the classroom, but her dogmatism was on another level.

If learning about social justice movements, the "global south", etc., is your thing, then this class is for you (I'm serious: you won't find someone better). Considering many of the students were borderline sycophantic, most people evidently got the memo before enrolling - unfortunately for my sanity, I wasn't one of them. If you have illusions about studying urban planning, as I did, best go elsewhere: other than a handful of swipes at Robert Moses, Le Corbusier, and Haussmann (which is standard practice at UCLA anyway) this class had nothing to do with planning.

Exams were straightforward, and the TA was great. Course reader was laughably expensive, especially for a class that often touched on the "neoliberalization of the university", but I digress.

Professor Roy is an extremely gifted teacher, amazingly well-spoken, and a very engaging lecturer; I can honestly say there was never a boring day in class. She's also pretty badass tbh. More than that, her and all the TAs are also very compassionate and will work with you to make sure you succeed if you're having trouble or going through something. I usually don't write bruinwalk reviews, but I enjoyed having Professor Roy so much that I felt compelled to write one for her. Both exams were online and open-book, and all the reading materials were provided; no purchasing a textbook required. Some other reviews here have noted that the readings and materials for this class were pretty radical, which I would agree with, however this isn't true for all of the readings. Her lectures often focus on real-world movements, research, and events, and have practical applications for other classes. I wish she taught more undergrad classes so I could have her as a professor again.

Professor Roy and the TAs for this course are exceptional. Roy is one of the most gifted lecturers and professors I have had the pleasure of learning from. The content in this course is very interesting and their approach to learning changed the way I will engage with my other classes. If nothing else, this class was great for me as a student to learn better study/reading skills. It is not easy and the material can be intellectually challenging at points. But this is what makes the class so great. I am very thankful that my class planner filled up and I was essentially forced to take this class, it was very well worth it.

I LOVED THIS CLASS! Professor Roy is an amazing lecturer!! All the content is extremely engaging and very relevant. The class was 40% Discussion (and all the TAs are extremely nice and always willing to help), 30% midterm, and 30% final. The midterm and final were both straightforward, Professor Roy did not ask any trick questions and truly just tested your understanding of the readings of the class. I do admit, the readings for this class were a bit long at times but the content was always interesting so do not let that drive you away. I 100% recommend this class!!

Take this class and please take it with Dr. Roy, she is amazing!

Also -- for those saying the readings are "one-sided," it is true that many of the readings are from a very left-leaning or Marxist perspective. However, that's literally the point of the class, is to examine space and property from the perspective of decommodification. In all my life, I don't think I have ever, not in elementary school, nor in middle school, nor in high school, nor in college including in any other pubaff class (and I've taken quite a few), read anything similar to some of the perspectives that are introduced in this class. My guess is this is probably true for the vast majority of people who end up taking it. So, go into the class with the understanding that for 10ish weeks you're going to be introduced to a lot of theory coming from a perspective that is likely novel and probably seems somewhat foreign and radical. That's literally the point. If we were reading about capitalist urban theorists and etc, half of the readings would literally be the same as every other class and form of education you've ever received in your life. BORING. So yes, you are going to go very deep into one certain perspective for about 10 weeks, without venturing very deep into the opposite perspective... because it's ironically very likely the one that you've likely been living under and learning about and thinking about and reflecting on for literally your entire life. So yes, the class is one sided and that's precisely the point, is to introduce you to this perspective -- that you are likely going to have trouble finding elsewhere.

I am very glad I took this class. I have learned so much that I've been able to incorporate into other classes as well as into average everyday conversations. Professor Roy is a gifted speaker and I never felt bored during her lectures. Everything she said felt relevant and necessary. My advice would be to write down as much as you can because she does not write every single thing on the slides, which is a good thing because it forces you to listen closely. This is one of those classes that changes your view of the world.

Don't be turned off by the 3.3 rating; this is easily the best class I've taken so far at UCLA and it should have a 5.0 rating. Roy is THE best professor I've had at UCLA. Although this class is pretty difficult because of its theoretical content, I would absolutely take it again. I went to every single lecture because I knew I was going to learn something new, interesting, practical, maybe mildly infuriating lol. But this class covers material that is so relevant to today's society. We covered decolonization, abolition, property, houselessness, violence, geography, and more. Cannot recommend this class enough. Midterm & final were reasonable as long as you were paying attention to lecture / somewhat the readings.

I really enjoyed this class and I would recommend it to others. I went into the class not really interested in the content, but I ended up learning so much and it challenged me to think in new ways. I ended the class curious to learn more about the content. If you are interested in going into urban planning, public policy, sociology, or even economics I think the class will offer useful information. Professor Roy is extremely intelligent and well-versed on the content. The workload is manageable, we had an open-book midterm that consisted of two essays. We were given several days to complete it. Attendance in discussion section is graded, but I found discussion to be helpful for understanding the class content anyways.

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The class is super interesting (though many of the readings can be a slog). We covered topics ranging from Black Lives Matter to coffee farms in the global South to the plight of undocumented people in the United States. The class opens your eyes to a lot of global and local issues, and I really couldn't be more thankful that I took it; I feel like it's one of those courses which you see in movies or envision when you dreamed about college (or at least when I did).

Roy is the best and most engaging professor I've taken at UCLA. She is passionate and incredibly knowledgable about the material. Because of this class I'm pursuing working with her under the Institute of Inequality and Democracy.

You won't regret taking this course.