Local Policy for Housing Development

When a developer wants to realize a housing scheme, what can the local planning authority do to assure that the resulting residential environment is of a high quality? This book explores the question through a cross-national comparison of housing development processes in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. It analyzes how decisions about the residential environment are made in different situations, and by whom. By applying this analysis to housing development processes in different countries, the book paints a picture of how public policy and market mechanisms together influence the development of housing. From this, conclusions are drawn about how local planning authorities can achieve their objectives concerning the quality of housing areas. The book provides a framework that allows housing development processes in different countries to be successfully compared, so that it is possible to learn from experiences in other countries. The theoretical framework for the study of housing development processes is applied in four different countries which establishes its scope and robustness.
The book combines a financial and an institutional analysis of housing development, showing how the decision making in housing development processes is determined by both financial and policy considerations. Also included are detailed case descriptions and analyses of eight housing development processes in four different countries, that give a deep insight into the deliberations and decisions in each of them. The text provides a lively combination of theoretical concepts and practical insights.