ABSTRACT
The battle for Tolmers Square came about because of a conflict of interest; a conflict between property developers who wanted to redevelop the area for offices, and various sections of the community who would suffer if this kind of redevelopment took place. As this conflict is a central theme of the Tolmers Square story, this first chapter briefly examines the general forces at work in property development. It examines the mechanics of property speculation, the operation of property companies, and the case against office development in the centre of cities. Anyone who gets bored reading this chapter should turn to Chapter 2 where the real story begins.
