ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a variety of concepts and associated quantitative methods whose commonality is established by their relation to external governmental controls placed upon housing. These regulations and strictures can be viewed as centripetal constraining actions — peripheral forces directed inwardly on housing. The broader subject matter encompassing quantitative techniques of the chapter is increasing steadily as governmental regulation expands. It aims to set down the evaluative framework within which the relevant quantitative methods will evolve, as well as to present the techniques currently in field use. During the 1960s, the dispersion of the nation's population from central cities into suburban rings reached such proportions that ancillary commercial and economic functions followed in its wake. The positive aspects of dispersion are difficult to refute. Indeed, court decisions on zoning, action by regional jurisdictions, and federal legislation all have affirmed its logic.
