Editorial

Citation

Fisher, P. (2005), "Editorial", Property Management, Vol. 23 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2005.11323caa.001

Editorial

Since we need buildings to shelter most of our activities and we live in cities, it is unsurprising that the production of urban space, through property development, may be analysed in many ways. Research into the reasons for the location and nature of past developments is needed to inform both predictions and advice. Many disciplines are able to contribute to such analysis.

Development may be viewed as a response by rational producers to price signals. Property markets are part of broader business and financial economies, which create climates for development. Economic analysis provides a sophisticated explanation of the property development process but it is not without flaws and other forms of study are possible and valid.

It is reasonable to suppose that the characteristics of the organisations involved influence the outcomes of a property development. Developers are clearly important, though they are not a uniform group. Many other private sector players exert influence and their motivations can be complex; take, for example, those of an architect. A rounded explanation of a development should examine why certain organisations became involved, the role(s) they played and the influence they had.

Economics texts often characterise the role of government in development as an intervention creating problems in markets that would otherwise be more efficient. This approach downplays the historical role of the state in framing cities and questions its legitimacy. State interventions may indeed by problematical, but can also be beneficial. A “successful” regeneration initiative may have unintended consequences that create demands for corrective action. Is this because the first initiative was misconceived, under-funded or both? It seems a truism that the state, in its many guises, has a significant impact on development. The particular configuration of the state at a local level can also be important.

Where there is state action then politics and political issues cannot be ignored. Politicians are motivated by many factors such as technological change, environmental pollution and racial tension. Organisations, markets and government respond to these broad factors or trends in different ways, altering development outcomes.

The development prospects of sites depend on their relative locations, physical characteristics and current ownership. Sites provide the playing field for development and it is far from level.

Conventional accounts of the development process tend to be developer-centric involving a series of usual events linking them to a list of typical players. However, such events depend on circumstances and tactics and there can be no blueprint. The decisions and agreements that shape the “events” of development reflect all the pressures outlined above, which are social, political, environmental, institutional and economic.

Case studies provide a method to examine development practice that is detailed and multi-faceted, though highly specific with a danger of deteriorating into story telling. If the cases are well chosen and structured, useful results can contribute to understanding why particular patterns of development have occurred.

Peter Fisher