’This is a very valuable detailed empirical study of the residential development process in France, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK. It combines an institutional analysis of the interplay of actors in the development process with careful attention to the different financial expenditures on the residential environment in different schemes. The study concludes with a comparative matrix relating degree and manner of reliance on market processes to the energy with which land policies are pursued. This is a very helpful addition to the literature on the interaction between policy and markets in the production of the built environment.’ Patsy Healey, School of Architecture Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, UK '...a very good piece of work and should be used quite extensively in urban planning courses.' Journal of Housing and the Built Enviornment