ABSTRACT
It is easy to pontificate on what kind of city we would like. But unless we understand the mechanisms – primarily economic mechanisms – that influence developments in the built environment, our hopes will not be realized. Spatial planners and designers advise private, public and community investors in the built environment. It is all too easy to assume that intentional planning, given good insight and evidence, can deliver a healthy environment. But reality is not that simple! So putting wishful thinking to one side, this chapter examines how the investment happens, the factors that determine the way the physical fabric of a settlement change.
