Controlling Development: Certainty and Discretion in Europe, the USA and Hong Kong

"Based on a detailed exploration of development control in Britain and France, and supported by studies of the USA, Hong Kong, Germany and the Netherlands, Controlling development provides an authoritative treatment of one of the most important topics in planning studies, research and practice. Concentrating on the mechanisms of policy implementation, rather than its formulation, the book offers fresh and well informed perspectives that are firmly rooted in extensive empirical research." "Development control systems fall into two broad categories: discretionary, as in Britain, and regulatory, as in France and the USA. Whichever system is in place, the decision-makers face the same underlying issues - of certainty, of flexibility and discretion in responding to circumstance, and of accountability for decisions taken - which form the main themes of the book. The author looks at the way systems of control have developed their particular characteristics in relation to administrative and legal practice. He considers the particular emphases that each places on the need for certainty and the scope for flexibility, and what means exist for ensuring accountability. The book ends with some general conclusions about the questions that development control systems must address if they are to resolve the conflicts identified." "Intended primarily for undergraduate and postgraduate students of urban planning and property development, Controlling development will also interest researchers and practitioners in these fields and in such related subject areas as public administration and geography."--Jacket