Abstract

This review has been quite critical of the literature and the literature-dependent portions of real estate industry and academia. The review has not included the often quite good public oriented literature produced by real estate economists and their business oriented colleagues. At the same time, material relevant to this review was not omitted from lack of familiarity with it. The real estate literature is not enormous; it is also not of a quality comparable to the literature found in business schools and modem business firms. One reason for this, of course, is the lack of research support for real estate academies with a business orientation, but that situation should quickly improve with the advent of institutional equity investment and a rational securities orientation in real estate. Even though it is taken on faith that the real estate world is doing the best it can with the resources available, the situation needs to change more quickly than it is now doing. Theory is weak, application is weaker. It is up to the real estate industry, real estate academics and business schools to marshal the effort needed to provide private land-use decision makers with the tools they need in order to be respected for their decisions and for their participation in a very important business.