'This is an important book. The authors in effect offer a positive theory of planning and urbanisation. As such, Webster and Lai's model, based on institutional economics, is a vast improvement on some equally ambitious predecessors. The book's insights and clarity make it a must reading for anyone seeking better understanding of how cities evolve as they do, and why planning is an integral part of their evolution.' -- Ernest Alexander, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, US
'A truly remarkable achievement.' -- Mark Pennington, Kings College, London, UK
'Chris Webster and Lawrence Lai have created a coherent and insightful integration of concepts such as property rights, organizations, competition, incentives, transaction costs, public goods, and externalities, which will help theorists and urban practitioners analyze and manage city goods and services. An important insight of the authors is the recognition of the interdependencies of people in a neighborhood, which can be efficiently handled with shares in the property value of the neighborhood. There is a constant question of how much markets and how much government should be involved in urban matters, and the authors provide a reasoned, balanced approach which recognizes the vital role of government while appreciating the effectiveness of markets and decentralized decision making, including private institutions or 'clubs' such as homeowners' associations. Their position that governments and markets co-evolve and complement one another is sound, and their conclusions regarding the need to provide clear property rights and efficient rules provide us with theoretical tools to better understand how cities can be improved while being wary of the 'allure of utopia.' -- Fred Foldvary, Santa Clara University, California, US
'This is a really important contribution to the planning literature. Beautifully written and clearly structured, it explains the complex relationship between planning and markets using the economic perspective of transaction cost theory and the new-institutionalism. This provides a robust way of addressing the old economic and planning agenda, which the authors illustrate with references to cases and situations from across the world. Informative and stimulating, this should be included in every planning theory course, and will be helpful to all trying to re-think old debates about planning and markets.' -- Patsy Healey, Newcastle University, UK
