This chapter presents a historical overview of market, policy and regulatory context as they relate to land and the built environment. It discusses the land use and planning approaches that Delhi and its surrounds used in its development post-independence. The chapter also discusses the land rights during the Mughal rule and explores the notion and extent of freehold. It shows that the making of New Delhi and the role of regulations such as the Land Acquisition Act 1894. The chapter reviews the impact of Delhi Development Authority, a planning and development agency that was established to master plan Delhi's growth and also undertakes development activities to meet housing needs of the city. It focuses on the markets and policies within which Delhi evolved, it would not be inappropriate to state that the market economy and the policies to support that, which the British Indian government pursued, suited the financial interests of the British Empire rather than of the native Indians.