ABSTRACT
If, in describing the way in which the British development control system has evolved, the key words that occur again and again are elasticity, flexibility and discretion, with the French system, it is certainty, legality and precision that have informed the process. This in itself suggests a fundamental difference of approach to the control of development, which has affected both the nature of the system and to some extent the objects of control. The most intriguing part of the comparison is the way that two systems built upon entirely different premises nevertheless cope with an essentially similar set of problems, an issue that forms the basis of much of the rest of this book. The reasons for these fundamental differences of approach can be found at many levels. In part it is a question of underlying philosophies that inform much of the culture of the two countries: the French preference for abstract theoretical principles, and British pragmatism. However, much can be ascribed to the political and administrative culture of the two countries, and the thrust of this book is to present an explanation that relates theories and practice of development control to the wider arena of decisionmaking and government. Nevertheless, in spite of the enormous differences of attitude, perception and practice that exist in the 1990s, the starting point for the two systems is, at least superficially, remarkably similar: the creation of a piazza and the formalization of controls over building.
