ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the analytical frameworks to discuss the issue of urban economic transformation. It describes the main factors putatively influencing urban development, reports contextual trends and emerging patterns, and outlines the equilibrium framework within which the current socio-economic and spatial changes are occurring in urban Europe. The chapter focuses on the process of land conversion without examining the mechanisms, qualities and processes that describe the property market operation. It proposes a brief rehearsal of the salient attributes of the conventional approach, giving emphasis to the urban dimension, and reviews the studies that employ the institutional perspective to analyze local economic organization, built environment provision and property market operation. The chapter examines the issue of urban economic and spatial transformation. It presents the findings, setting an agenda for the development of a holistic framework that advances understanding of the function of the urban property market and its role in economic development.
