International handbook on land use planning /

This ambitious effort puts land use planning in a global perspective. Prominent planning authorities review land-use planning efforts in 22 countries representing market economies, socialist states, and developing countries. For the most part the authors are scholars who live in the country they review. The chapters are organized according to a consistent scheme-an overview of the historical development and current status of planning; a discussion of the institutional and landownership framework; and observations regarding major challenges and approaches to planning. The high quality of the individual chapters and the consistency of approach make this volume truly a comparative study. Individual chapters contain enough background so that they can be read as an introduction to the planning process in the countries they describe. The inclusion of detailed notes and bibliographies make it a convenient source (and in some cases, one of the few references) to additional work. Although the book is not perfect (some of the illustrations and tables are poorly referenced in the text), and adding more country studies would have strengthened the work even more, it is clearly the leading volume in its subject area and will set the standard for some years to come. Highly recommended for college and university collections.-P.J. Pizor, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick Campus