This course explores alternatives to the traditional developer model of housing production. The course challenges students to look creatively at the five constituent parties of the development process (i.e. the land, community, architectural team, constructors, and financial resources) and to the structure of the contracts that govern the relationships between them. The format of the course is collaborative, rigorous, and invested in an expansive definition of design as an instrument for the creation of new housing possibilities. Students conduct research into historical and contemporary housing development precedents and read a selection of essays and book chapters covering the topic both theoretically and practically. The outcome of the course is the creation of a contract describing working relationships and responsibilities between the five constituent parties of the development process. This document is intended as a draft legal agreement and a kind of model social contract, forming the basis for speculations that go beyond conventional profit driven development models in order to seek value creation on multiple fronts.