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This article revisits social sustainability of compact urban neighbourhoods based on first-hand evidence from four case studies in London and Berlin. It suggests a working definition for socially sustainable neighbourhoods, develops a tripartite integrative evaluation framework for measuring social sustainability of urban neighbourhoods, and applies it to four case studies in London and Berlin. Findings of this research are in line with some dominant arguments made in favour of social sustainability of compact urban form, but challenges some others. Research findings suggest that compact urban form is not an urban orthodoxy, but has multiple and contrasting social meanings and perceptions in different contexts and places.

Despite recent advances in social sustainability discourse, there is a dearth of working definitions and evaluation frameworks regarding measuring social sustainability of neighbourhoods for resear...

This paper proposes a bespoke urban sustainability indicator framework in the context of China’s prevalent property-led urban development. Emphasising local characteristics and incorporating underl...

This article presents a critical reflection on the theory and practice of social sustainability in the built environment, identifies areas of agreement and disagreement, explores theoretical and conceptual gaps and challenges, and suggests practical implications for future research and urban policy. It argues that despite revisionist approaches which challenge the tripartite structure of sustainable development, social dimension of sustainability remains an essential valid pillar. Utilising a qualitative meta-analysis methodology for undertaking critical analysis of previous research and publications on the topic, key themes of theory and practice of social sustainability are identified and critically examined. Accordingly, 10 key formative characteristics of social sustainability and their research and policy implications are introduced. The article concludes with institutional observations for policy-makers to achieve greater success in addressing largely underestimated dimensions of social sust...

Deep learning (DL) and machine learning (ML) methods have recently contributed to the advancement of models in the various aspects of prediction, planning, and uncertainty analysis of smart cities and urban development. This paper presents the state of the art of DL and ML methods used in this realm. Through a novel taxonomy, the advances in model development and new application domains in urban sustainability and smart cities are presented. Findings reveal that five DL and ML methods have been most applied to address the different aspects of smart cities. These are artificial neural networks; support vector machines; decision trees; ensembles, Bayesians, hybrids, and neuro-fuzzy; and deep learning. It is also disclosed that energy, health, and urban transport are the main domains of smart cities that DL and ML methods contributed in to address their problems.

Purpose – This study aims to explore the development of a new city brand in Saudi Arabia. Place Branding theory is geared towards existing places and does not take into account newly developed cities. Here “Place Branding” takes on a new significance. How do we develop a brand for a city that does not yet exist? Who are the actors involved and how do they influence the process? Design/methodology/approach – The study uses discourse analysis to investigate the interplay between actors and place brand development in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) for two separate branding scenarios. It is further structured through the theoretical lens of actor-network theory (ANT) to take advantage of relational aspects that can lend insight on how a brand is created and enacted. Findings – Initial findings suggest that branding messages in KAEC are fragmented with little government or other stakeholder involvement leading to poor brand awareness and performance. The study also emphasises the importance of branding practices in the beginning stages of new city development. It further suggests that the message itself, the conceptual place brand, can represent a socially constructed idea or belief that can shape perceptions about the project before physical form is developed. Originality/value – The case study in Saudi Arabia will highlight the opportunities and pitfalls associated with place branding in the Middle East while comparing the findings with traditional place-branding approaches in existing cities. By contextualizing discourse analysis research within an ANT-based exploration of the KAEC brand’s gestation in Saudi Arabia, the study highlights the meaningfulness of a place brand construct in the process of city creation.

It is difficult to avoid the impact of economic restructuring on the landscape and social and economic life of many cities which were used to grow within certain economic structure and also supported by the state (Healey, 1997). In many post-socialist countries the collapse of the socialist system was followed by a number of economic, social and legal reforms, due to which the land and property ownership in most of the countries has been transferred from public to private sector. However, in most cases the state transferred to private hands not only the ownership to the property but also the problems related to the quality of that property. The issue has a specific importance with regard to multi-unit housing since the latter occupies the largest share of urban fabric worldwide.While having scarce public resources the promotion of private property-based investment projects becomes a sound solution in qualifying urban residential spaces and overcoming urban decay. Such projects will be successful if applying collaborative approaches and enhancing the value added by the project.The aim of this study is to discuss the possibilities and constraints for application of certain models of collaborative approach to property-based urban management in post-socialist planning practice. Armenia (Yerevan) shall be considered as a particular case of post-socialist transitional society. The discussion shall be based on surveys conducted within the scope of research project.The results show that even in societies where the private property rights and respective regulations are relatively recent the collaboration in urban regeneration projects is more successful when the allocation of the global project value added to each participant is evidenced and rationalized, whereas supportive institutional framework and participation of financial institution as a project stakeholder are considered essential preconditions.

In its quest for development, Zambia is pursuing a land policy that facilitates privatization of customary land. This article investigates the effects of privatization in terms of how it shapes people's behaviour and perception of private tenure and related tenure dynamics. Findings have shown that the appetite to privatize land is growing stronger in peri-urban areas as land becomes more scarce. Furthermore, privatization of land appears to be a threat to traditional political structures as allegiance and loyalty towards chiefs diminish and tension and struggles over land in peri-urban areas increase. Similarly, privatization of land erodes people's faith in the role that cultural and ancestral beliefs play in traditional land management. Also, people in rural areas tend to favour private tenure more if 'privatization of customary land' means allocation of land to outsiders. If, by contrast, the phrase is taken to mean communities registering their own land, peri-urban communities tend to have a stronger desire to register land. Furthermore, rural communities were found to be less informed about land policy and seemed less keen to be involved in land policy processes when compared to peri-urban residents. However, rural people may have no reason to inform themselves about land policy until they realise that the policy is likely to affect them.

Purpose – The relationship between sustainable development and private finance initiative (PFI) procurement systems is clarified, and the current debate on the effectiveness of PFI in the UK and the benefits of PFI to deliver sustainable construction is reviewed. The study develops a sustainability assessment framework encompassing environmental, economic, social and technical aspects through the life cycle of the procurement process. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive literature review develops a conceptual sustainability performance indicators framework. A national questionnaire survey measures existing PFI projects' sustainability performance level. Findings – The study provides empirical insights about key performance indicators of sustainable PFI project development and a benchmarking for existing PFI project performance measurement. It suggests that successful sustainable PFI projects should integrate technical aspects into the traditional three dimensions sustainability model and achieve a balance between social and economic performance. Research limitations/implications – Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack in-depth analysis of individual projects. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the framework further. Practical implications – The sustainability indicator framework proposed in this paper is readily applicable in PFI projects, as well as other types of PPP projects. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need to study how the sustainability performance levels achieved could be effectively measured within PFI/PPP projects; while contributing to the debate on benchmarking and measuring sustainability performance in construction.

The built environment sector impacts significantly on communities. At the same time, it is the sector with the highest cost and environmental saving potentials provided effective strategies are implemented. The emerging Semantic Web promises new opportunities for efficient management of information and knowledge about various domains. While other domains, particularly bioinformatics have fully embraced the Semantic Web, knowledge about how the same has been applied to the built environment is sketchy. This study investigates the development and trend of Semantic Web applications in the built environment. Understanding the different applications of the Semantic Web is essential for evaluation, improvement and opening of new research. A review of over 120 refereed articles on built environment Semantic Web applications has been conducted. A classification of the different Semantic Web applications in relation to their year of application is presented to highlight the trend. Two major findings have emerged. Firstly, despite limited research about easy-to-use applications, progress is being made from often too-common ontological concepts to more innovative concepts such as Linked Data. Secondly, a shift from traditional construction applications to Semantic Web sustainable construction applications is gradually emerging. To conclude, research challenges, potential future development and research directions have been discussed.

This paper examines the housing policies in China in the last 14 years in the context of the international debate on the World Bank's housing market enabling strategy to improve low-income housing provision in developing countries. A review of China's urban housing outcomes reveals housing price inflation and shortage of affordable housing in the fast expanding housing market. The paper analyzes policies to increase both demand for and supply of housing and argues that these policies have contributed to worsening affordability. This situation has been exacerbated by problems in the institutional framework managing the housing sector. The paper concludes that market enabling alone is not sufficient to achieve a satisfactory housing outcome for low- and middle-income groups in Chinese cities. It advocates more effective and direct public intervention for enhancing social housing provision and tightening market regulation to address both market and government failures to improve housing conditions for lower ...

The real estate and finance induced crisis that so dramatically affected the US and European economies in 2008 also signalled changes in the emerging economic powers. The latter had not only done r...

In the name of development, governments in Africa are reformulating land policies to facilitate privatisation of customary land rights. The main rationale for this is to stimulate private investment through tradable land titles, which will enhance local economic activity and ultimately contribute to increased incomes and poverty alleviation. However, these land reform proposals have often produced unintended results leading to exclusion of the poor and servicing the interests of the elite. Zambia is not an exception in the land reform rhetoric. In 1995, the government enacted a pro-investment law to attract investment from abroad. Consequently, large tracts of customary land were converted to private tenure as increasing foreign investments were made in the country. One example of such investments is mining; for example, Lumwana and Kansanshi mines were opened up in Solwezi. These mines have attracted more people and fringe investments in search of economic opportunities. This has further led to increased pressure on land as more people and organisations seek to acquire customary land from chiefs and convert it to private leaseholds. This paper uses personal experience and research to present the achievements, potential and limitations of private investments in local communities and their economy. The paper argues that, despite the huge potential of private investment, attaining poverty alleviation through land reform strategies in Zambia still remains overshadowed by conflicting agendas, i.e. serving the interests of poor citizens versus pursuing the collective global market agenda in order to gain international recognition and acceptance. This is particularly crucial given that these agendas are often at odds with each other.

Renewable energy (RE) projects are arguably one of the most important strategies that can be used in the mitigation of climate change impacts. At the same time, RE technologies can generate clean energy and potentially boost the economy of the African continent. It is thus not surprising that recent studies have investigated the relationship between RE and economic growth in some African countries. However, the limitation of these reductionist analytical frameworks is that they can conceal the true regional picture in terms of the link between investments in RE technologies and gross domestic product (GDP). This holistic analysis is important in order to inform regional policies on climate change. The article uses statistical analytic techniques to examine the correlation between RE production and economic growth across different blocks of the African continent between 1980 and 2008. The analysis is between geographical blocks (e.g. Southern Africa, Western Africa, etc.) and between oil and non-oil producing blocks. Generally speaking, while there exists a similar pattern in all the studied blocks in terms of mean, standard deviation and correlation between RE and GDP, a few exceptions can be found. For instance, the rise in RE–GDP correlation from 1992/1993 onwards was conspicuously higher in North Africa and oil-producing countries compared to all the other blocks. Similarly, Southern Africa was the only block where the correlation between RE and GDP was negative throughout the period under review, except 1988, 1989 and 1997 when it was positive.

The subject of participation is now at the core of many contemporary development debates. This is promoted within the emerging context of moving away from ‘government’ to ‘governance’ as stakeholders are increasingly getting frustrated by governments’ continued application of the mundane Decide, Announce, and Defend (DAD) approaches to policy making. However, despite the voluminous amount of literature on participation, there is little scholarly work on whether or how communities, particularly those in rural and periurban locations, participate in land policy processes. This paper examines the extent to which Zambia’s land policy process is participatory on the part of rural/periurban communities. The paper argues that despite its potential, genuine participation of rural communities in land policy processes in Zambia is constrained by cultural/social norms that defer the views of rural communities to those of their traditional rulers. On the other hand, periurban communities are excluded from the participatory agenda by the dynamics surrounding struggles over land and proceeds accruing from land transactions. The implication of these findings is that, since participatory requirements/expectations of rural communities may not necessarily be similar to those of periurban communities, there is need to explore the potential of designing ‘bespoke’ policies that would accommodate the needs of the individual communities. Keywords: Zambia, land policy reform, stakeholder participation

This issue of IJUSD covers a range of topics dealing with sustainable environments, economies and mobility in cities. The articles provide institutional, social, economic and ecological analyses to...

Land is increasingly becoming important as the global economic crisis and climate change impacts continue to grow. This is mirrored in Zambia where the management of land has become very critical, prompting urgent government intervention/regulatory measures in the form of land reform. However, lack of efficient communication mechanisms inhibits the success of these efforts as officials are unable to make efficient land delivery decisions. This paper investigates the extent to which Semantic Web technology, an emerging communication technology, can be used in developing decision support systems that can facilitate the Zambian land delivery process.

The fifth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF) was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between 22 and 26 March 2010. To mark the occasion I asked a number of colleagues who attended the meeting to pr...

Considering the existential threat that global warming poses to humanity, the current focus on climate change is undoubtedly justified. However, this should not overshadow the fact that sustainable development does not only end with environmental concerns but also covers social and economic domains that are mediated through physical spaces and built form. There are two-way interactions between these domains with each having a reciprocal impact on the other. Based on the institutional and policy context, these interactions can move us towards either a more virtuous circle of development with more equitable growth, empowered communities, liveable spaces and reduced (or at least controlled) levels of pollution, or the reverse. Consequently, in order to set the scene for the launch of the International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, I attempt to provide an overview of the main challenges emanating from each domain for achieving urban sustainability and the contribution that the new journal can make...

This paper examines the first 10 years (1979—89) of the implementation of the Urban Land Act in Iran in order to revisit the debate on the capacity of market-enabling policies to improve low-income housing provision in developing countries. The outcome of the Iranian experience during the study period shows that, at the very least, governments can play an important and effective role in low- and middle-income housing provision through direct provision of urban land in parallel with markets. This suggests that the best way forward may be a combination of market-enabling approaches that develop basic institutional functions plus proactive government intervention for developing public land banks to provide better access to cheap land for a range of housing providers including individual households, co-operatives and private developers.

This paper contributes to filling the knowledge gap on risks in the commercial real estate market in four Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chongqing. It examines the impact of urban governance, government real estate administration, and market practice in general and the current status of the property investment market in particular, on real estate market risks. The paper concludes that an institutional study needs to be built into a conventional economic analysis model to examine risks in commercial property investment in China. The economic reform and opening-up program since 1979 has brought huge economic success to China, experiencing an average annual growth of 9.7% since 1979 (Exhibit 1). The Chinese economy, measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), had become the third largest in terms of market exchange rate in 2007, passing Germany (Exhibit 2), and second largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It is still expected to grow at a relatively high speed in the next few years (Exhibit 3), because the economic drivers (i.e., domestic investment and exports) are not likely to slow down substantially. China's economy looks likely to sustain its rapid expansion, with three drivers, i.e., exports, fixed-asset investment (Exhibit 2), and domestic consumption, remaining robust in the near future. China's export market will continue to benefit from high levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing, low wages, and high productivity growth. The country's high investment ratio ensures rapidly improving infrastructure to sustain fast economic growth and rapid increase in productive capacity. In particular, rapid urban growth, a major cause of the high investment ratio, will continue as migration from rural areas is encouraged by the government as a way to lift the living standards of the country's rural population. Domestic consumption, currently at low levels, will eventually become the main economic driver as income levels rise and consumer behavior changes. China will be able to maintain its position as Asia's leading economy (Exhibit 3). The positive prospects of the Chinese economy and the expectation of increased demand in commercial property have led to a development boom of offices and shops and an investment boom in commercial property in the last several years. Since the new century, the Chinese commercial real estate sector has attracted increasing attention and investment from American and European investors (Exhibit 4). In particular, such attention has recently been extended from Tier 1 Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai to Tier 2 cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and in some cases Tier 3 cities like Chengdu and Chongqing. This classification of cities into different 'tiers' is based on their economic size and level of international investment. For Beijing and Shanghai, this is not controversial. For the rest, there is no consensus. As the paper reveals, such classification conceals the risk differential in real estate investment. Contrary to the land and residential property sub-markets, the Chinese commercial property market has remained inadequately studied and understood by both foreign investors and academics. The few attempts by academics to understand China's office market include Tse, Chiang, and Raftery (1999) and Newell, Chau, Wong, and McKinnell (2005), who provide rudimentary analysis of office returns in major Chinese cities, and Cao and Edwards (2001, 2002), who look into the institutional aspects of office development and thus the risks of office investment. Many international property consultancy firms operating in China (Exhibit 4) provide market information like rental and capital values (Exhibit 5) and good descriptions of certain sectors [e.g., logistics (JLL, 2007)], but not in-depth analysis. There are some exceptions like the transparency report on the Chinese real estate market (JLL, 2006), which categorizes the Chinese market as having low transparency, with only minor improvement from 2004 to 2006. …

This paper evaluates the applicability of international environmental policy guidelines and prevalent strategic, project and action-based models and typologies in the context of high-income developing countries, particularly in their impact on the private business community. Utilizing the case of Abu Dhabi, the paper argues the need for adoption of a new approach to environmental planning in developing countries, recognizing their developmental and income levels, that may allow greater flexibility in adoption and application of policies driven by internal needs and dynamics, rather than imposed as part of financial donor packages by international agencies. The paper adapts existing theories on ecological modernization and institutional analysis to develop a bespoke conceptual tool to examine the relationship between economic development and environmental protection in Abu Dhabi, with more general application to both developing and developed economies.

This essay examines the impact of globalization on land peripheral to large cities of the south. It identifies such land as providing major arenas for contested claims between the requirements of international firms and those of local inhabitants and businesses, entailing both threats and opportunities in terms of local economic development. Much depends on the urban governance and institutional processes surrounding the use and allocation of land that are themselves directly influenced by the globalization process. In many cities national, state or provincial governments have set up special parastatal organizations with substantial funding and significant decision-making powers over infrastructure development and land use to facilitate the rebirth of their cities as havens for international investment. In the process local municipalities and the local population are often excluded from the decision-making process, while being left to cope with the aftermath and maintenance of the grand projects. The essay identifies weaknesses in elite governance models usually centred at the state or national levels, and asks if a better alternative may be a local government-led ‘inclusive leadership’ model capable of clear leadership, greater coordination of different governance layers and inclusion of local actors.

Cities in Iran face major challenges in all domains of sustainability relating to environmental, social and economic dimensions of development. Environmental challenges include high and ineffective energy consumption, destruction of natural environment, pollution of air, water, soil and other related problems. On the social and economic fronts, poverty and inequality in access to public services and infrastructures and employment has led to rapid growth of informal settlements and informal economic activities inside and on the fringe of medium and large cities. Previous research and reports on evaluating sustainability of Iranian cities and regions have largely focused on assessing sustainable development indicators in environmental, social and economic areas. As a result, they have neglected to examine underlying procedural issues affecting sustainability, e.g. urban governance, and the relationship between substantive and procedural aspects. The main aim of this chapter is to examine the institutional and social capacities for moving and progressing towards sustainable urban development in Iran. The chapter adopts a systematic review or meta-analysis approach and brings together results of a number of previous studies undertaken by the authors and other researchers. The findings indicate that there are not sufficient social and institutional capacities for progressing towards sustainable cities. Nevertheless, the chapter contributes to better understanding of the potential that already exists, the barriers that must be overcome and the role that main agents play in shaping and utilising these capacities.

(2003). Development of the ICT sector and urban competitiveness: The case of Dubai. Journal of Urban Technology: Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 19-46.

With globalization, cities are facing increasing competitions as centers for activities and nodes for multi-national corporations. As a result, cities have to ensure that their institutional structures cater to the rising demand from such corporations. There is an increasing need for institutional thickness and free market systems. In the past four decades, Singapore, an investment driven city, has provided businesses with a secure and efficient business environment. Through semi-structured interviews with senior policy makers and private experts, this research identifies the institutional framework in Singapore and how this set up interacts with and influences the business environment and city development. However, the need to elevate itself into a knowledge based economy requires a more nimble and fluid relationship between the institutions and the businesses.

As a major gateway city to eastern Europe, Warsaw has been subject to a significant level of international real estate investment and development activity in support of the regional functions of trans-national corporations as well as access to the large Polish domestic market. As a result the city has undergone major transformation since the early 1990s with large-scale office and retail developments in the city centre as well as out of town locations. This paper considers city institutional capacities and policy responses in the face of these changes, particularly in respect of nurturing and channelling international investment and development activity. As such the paper utilises the results of fieldwork interviews and focus group discussions involving a range of public/private and local/international actors in urban planning as well as property development and investment activities. The research stems from an ESRC funded project that evaluates globalisation of real estate markets and urban development in the capital cities of central Europe. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

The forces of globalization with implications for competitiveness present opportunities and challenges for the future development of cities. In central Europe the economic transformation of the 1990s has coincided with the growth of global forces; however due to their post-war history cities in this region are starting from an uncompetitive base. This paper examines the extent to which capital cities in central Europe have adapted to global forces specifically in relation to the development of commercial property markets. The research methodology is from a qualitative perspective and primarily draws upon an evaluation of expert opinion based on focus groups conducted in Budapest, Prague and Warsaw supported by evidence from market reports, survey and structured interview. Themes include the rationale for investment, factors influencing/barriers to investment and development, policy and institutional considerations, and future scenarios for each city within the region. Conclusions are drawn on the evolving...

This paper examines the urban development process in post-socialist cities of Budapest, Prague and Warsaw in the context of economic globalisation and societal transformation. Several factors have helped to shape the post-socialist cities of central Europe since the end of the 1980s. These include political transformation, economic change, restitution, privatisation, price liberalisation and decentralisation of local government. It is argued that local government administrative and planning structures have been ill prepared in meeting the requirements of international investment capital in a co-ordinated and effective manner. Institutional constraints has promoted an organic form of urban development primarily determined through the international demand for, and supply of, commercial and retail space.

The debate on housing policy in developing countries since the late 1980s has been dominated by the World Bank led strategy of developing the housing sector as a whole by enabling primarily formal private markets to work more efficiently. Yet, the emphasis on private markets has led to the exclusion of complementary and alternative public, co-operative/community based and informal modes of housing provision from serious policy consideration. This paper argues for the adoption of a more integrated housing policy that is based on the recognition and better co-ordination of plurality of provision. Thereby, not only allowing further development of specific modes in appropriate socio-economic settings but also enabling the creation of synergies through combining complementary modes in order to overcome their relative weaknesses, we can boost supply to specific target groups.

In the face of an estimated one billion people living in inadequate housing conditions in developing countries the need for scaling up housing supply has become an urgent focus of policy debate. To this end the expansion of the role of the private markets has formed the central thesis of the ‘enabling strategy’ for developing the housing sector as a whole rather than relying on project based approaches such as sites and services and settlement upgrading programmes. Policy recommendations emanating from such a standpoint concentrate on adjustments to supply and demand through deregulation and institutional development of the land and housing markets in developing countries in order to overcome largely external constraints to a more efficient market mechanism. This conception of the enabling strategy, however, has been subject to much debate and criticism for its over-concentration on the private markets and exclusion of alternative/complementary modes of housing provision from serious policy consideration. By utilising the structure and agency approach as its basic methodological tool of analysis this paper provides a comprehensive review of the scope and potential of different modes of housing provision in different contexts in developing countries. Thereby providing a firm comparative basis for examining the potential for expanded private market activity. The paper concludes that the severe underdevelopment of institutional capacities and human and material resources coupled with intricate and complex social, political, cultural and economic interactions between various agents and structures of provision create major obstacles to the efficiency of private land markets in developing countries. Therefore, while private markets can and should be supported they can not form the focus of the enabling strategy in most developing countries. Instead, the paper argues for a comprehensive approach to enabling strategies which combines adjustments to overall supply and demand conditions with the identification and inclusion of different modes and agents of housing provision in a holistic integrated policy.

Globalization of markets has created new opportunities for the development of real estate investment on a cross-border basis. Paralleling wider world processes, the collapse of communism in central and eastern Europe has led to a transformation from command to market-based economies. Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary have been prominent in this process. This article using the results of a survey of institutions and property companies in the United Kingdom and other European Union countries assesses the extent to which these central European countries are offering investment opportunities in real estate, ten years after the transformation. Introduction Real estate, as an investment or financial asset tradable on international markets, has become increasingly integrated into the global economy. However, globalization embraces both complementary and competitive activities. The building of networks requires cooperation and coordination of functions while the capturing of investment leads to competition between different locations whether this is between countries, regions or cities. Success is often dependent on the ability to offer institutionalizing processes to attract flows of investment and entrepreneurship and to offer a variety of external economies of sufficient scope and scale to business (Amin and Thrift, 1994). Budd (1998) considers the degree to which city regions can successfully compete and the organizational basis of that competition to be dependent on factors that include city size, localization economies based on territorial competition between cities and urbanization economies such as the provision of infrastructure, development and investment opportunity, flexible planning regimes and the quality and availability of specialist labor. The locational characteristics offered by urban areas become increasingly important with regard to the competition for development, investment and employment opportunity. Berry and McGreal (1995) consider that the institutional, regulatory, physical and infra-structural framework offered determines the success or otherwise in attracting the free movement of capital. Further, in response to structural change cities are becoming more proactive in initiating policies that inter-relate with global knowledge networks (Lo and Yeung, 1996). Indeed, the attraction of investment flows is strongly influenced by the comparative advantage that city markets or local markets offer. In the case of real estate, local market conditions with local constraints determine supply, demand and value (Worzala and Bernasek, 1996). Central European countries have not been immune from the processes of globalization. Indeed, the transition from command to free market economies in countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary during the 1990s has paralleled the growth of global processes. The ensuing competition has sought to satisfy the locational requirements of international capital for investment and development (Musil, 1993; Sykora, 1995; Adair et al., 1999; and Parsa and Keivani, 1999). Although clearly attracting new development, the extent to which these central European countries and in particular the capital cities of Warsaw, Prague and Budapest have been able to transform themselves as centers of international real estate investment is less apparent. This article using primarily the results of a mailed questionnaire survey targeted at major institutional investors and property companies in both the United Kingdom and other European Union countries seeks to address this question. The work forms an integral part of a larger research project on real estate markets and urban development in central Europe funded by the Economic and Social Research Council in the U.K. Diversification The arguments regarding diversification have been well rehearsed in the literature. Modern portfolio theory provides a theoretical framework for calculating return and risk when assets are combined in a portfolio. …