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SHAPING PLACES: URBAN PLANNING, DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Unfortunately, I do not have a full electronic text of this book (which I co-authored with Steve
Tiesdell in 2013) available to share. However, the book draws on, or anticipates, a number of other
papers, which are accessibled in full via ResearchGate. These are listed below, along with their
abstracts or introductions, so you can select those of most interest.
Adams, D. (1995) The British commercial development industry, European Planning Studies, 3, 531-
542.
Academic and professional accounts of the commercial development industry often portray an
implicit but false picture of homogeneity, when in reality, the sector is highly diverse. This diversity
has important implications for the production of the built environment, since the extent to which
particular developers see themselves also as dealers or investors will colour their approach to a
development project. Building on earlier work, this paper therefore presents a fourfold typology of
the British commercial development industry, by distinguishing between property dealers,
developer/dealers, developer/investors and investor/developers. Recent case studies are included in
each case to demonstrate how the motives, operations and financial stability of each type of developer
reflect this distinction.
Adams, D., Russell, L. and Taylor-Russell, C. (1995) Market activity and industrial development,
Urban Studies, 32, 471-489.
Most models of the development process concentrate on either events, agencies or the structural
framework for development. Such models encourage simplistic policy responses to perceived
development constraints. This paper explores the actions, interests and strategies of those who own
land with potential for industrial development within the context of the resources to which they have
access, the rules that they consider govern their behaviour and the ideas that they draw upon in land
management and development. It is suggested that while active landowners may welcome or indeed
initiate industrial development, passive owners can undermine development potential. The paper is
based on research into the development achievements or prospects of 120 industrial sites in North
West England.
Adams, D., Russell, L. and Taylor-Russell, C. (1995) Industrial land availability: the case of the
Cheshire-Wirral corridor, Town Planning Review, 66, 411-430.
This article evaluates the extent to which development constraints impede the availability of land for
industrial development. It concentrates on four specific types of constraint: planning restrictions,
physical or infrastructural difficulties, passive ownership and uncertainties about land values. The
article is based on empirical research into industrial development in North West England, where
attention was concentrated on the development prospects or achievements of 120 industrial sites in
the Cheshire–Wirral corridor. Apart from a greater preponderance of docks and redundant structures
in inner urban areas and a greater absence of infrastructural connections in rural areas, no noticeable
differences were recorded in the spatial distribution of development constraints between inner urban,
major urban, minor urban and rural areas. Since constrained sites were not necessarily kept vacant
and unconstrained sites not necessarily developed, the article contends that the speed and likelihood
of overcoming such constraints deserve greater attention than their mere existence. On this basis,
new policy directions are recommended to enhance the availability of industrial land.
Adams, D. (1996) The use of compulsory purchase under planning legislation, Journal of Planning
and Environmental Law, 275-285.
The article considers the current extent of compulsory purchase action under planning legislation.
The purpose and reasons given by authorities for such compulsory purchase orders are next explored.
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Attention is then given to identifying the importance of potential deterrents to compulsory purchase,
and to considering possible improvements, before the conclusions of the research are drawn together.
Adams. D., Disberry, A., Hutchison, N. and Munjoma, T. (2001) Managing urban land: the case
for urban partnership zones, Regional Studies, 35, 153-162.
Multiple ownership of land can act as a significant barrier to brownfield redevelopment. Despite
renewed interest in compulsory purchase, it is unlikely to become the normal remedy for multiple
ownership, owing to its cost and complexity. Drawing on international experience and recent research,
this paper proposes the concept of an Urban Partnership Zone, in which existing landowners would
be entitled to participate alongside the local authority and a chosen development partner in a joint-
venture redevelopment company. Combined with greater planning certainty and other benefits, this
innovation would enable the development process to operate more rapidly without immediate
compulsory purchase.
Adams, D., Disberry, A., Hutchison, N. and Munjoma, T. (2001) Ownership constraints to
brownfield redevelopment, Environment and Planning A, 33, 453-477.
This paper examines the nature and significance of ownership constraints within the urban
redevelopment process. It suggests that such constraints derive from the distinctiveness of land as a
commodity, the imperfect nature of the land market, the behavioural characteristics of landowners
and the institutional context for land ownership, exchange and development. From this, the paper
proposes a common definition of ownership constraints as a basis for their practical classification.
This divides ownership constraints between those that concern deficiencies in, or limitations to, the
extent of ownership rights in potential development land and those that relate specifically to the
strategies, interests and actions of those who hold such rights. The various types of ownership
constraints that fall under these headings are then explored, with research presented into the extent
to which they each disrupted plans to use, market, develop or purchase 80 large redevelopment sites
in four British cities between 1991 and 1995.
Adams. D., Disberry, A., Hutchison, N. and Munjoma, T. (2002) The impact of land management
and development strategies on urban redevelopment prospects, pp 137-157 in Guy, S. and
Henneberry, J. (eds) Development and Developers, Blackwell Science, Oxford.
This paper presents the results of detailed empirical work into the strategies, interests and actions
of the owners of 80 potential redevelopment sites in four British cities. We seek to evaluate the
extent to which particular categories of landowner encourage or discourage actual redevelopment.
This site-specific analysis is then connected with the broader social, economic and political context
within which owners pursue their individual land management and development strategies. Here,
we identify, two levels of interaction between structure and agency, suggesting that, in urban
redevelopmenti, the activity of structuration operates more powerfully at the lower level, even
though this is influenced by forces which originate at the upper level..
Adams. D, Disberry, A., Hutchison, N. and Munjoma, T. (2002) Brownfield land: owner
characteristics, attitudes and networks, pp. 317-336 in Rydin, Y. and Thornley, A. (eds) Planning in
the UK: Agendas for the New Millennium, Ashgate, Aldershot.
The chapter is based on research on ownership interests in 20 potential redevelopment sites in
each of four selected cities in the United Kingdom. The results establish clear patterns of owner
characteristics and relationships with other property-related interests. These findings have
important repercussions for the application of the concept of growth coalitions in the United
Kingdom and have wider significance regarding the strategies and mechanisms appropriate to the
redevelopment of land and the regeneration of localities.
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Adams, D. (2004) The changing regulatory environment for speculative housebuilding and the
construction of core competencies for brownfield development, Environment and Planning A, 36,
601-624.
Speculative housebuilding in the United Kingdom faces an ever tighter regulatory environment,
owing to the increasing impact of the sustainable development agenda. For example, 60% of all
new homes in England are now expected to be constructed on previously-developed land or
provided through the conversion of existing buildings. Since speculative housebuilders are
responsible for about 80% of all new dwellings built in the UK, the achievement of this important
Government target is critically dependent on the private sector’s capacity and willingness to
respond to public policy. By exploring the main components of the residential development
process, the paper investigates how far speculative housebuilding will be need to change to ensure
the successful implementation of the Government’s brownfield housing target. It suggests that
those speculative housebuilders who are enthusiastically building up core competencies in
brownfield housing are likely to emerge as the market leaders of the future, while those companies
who continue to rely on past practices and technologies will face an uncertain future as greenfield
development opportunities begin to reduce.
Tiesdell, S. and Adams, D. (2004) Design matters: major house builders and the design challenge
of brownfield development contexts, Journal of Urban Design, 9, 23-45.
The quality of contemporary residential development, and the associated design challenge for
house builders, are important current policy issues in England. Until recently, better-designed
contemporary housing development was more frequently seen on smaller, more constrained urban
or brownfield sites and more rarely on greenfield sites. Set against a significant shift in the
prevailing planning regime during the 1990s (from greenfield development to an express policy
emphasis on brownfield development), this paper attempts to explain this observation. Utilizing
the concept of ‘opportunity space’, it develops a model of the role of design and the designer in
the development process, which is then used to account for differences in the quality of
development on greenfield and brownfield sites. It is suggested that the development of greenfield
and brownfield sites displays significant contrasts and that, as a consequence, successful
brownfield developers yield opportunity space in their business strategies to designers.
Adams, D., Dunse, N. and White, M. (2005) Conceptualising state-market relations in land and
property: the growth of institutionalism – extension or challenge to mainstream economics? pp.
37-55 in Adams, D., Watkins, C. and White, M. (eds) Planning, Public Policy and Property Markets,
Blackwell, Oxford.
Any analysis of state-market relations in land and property is highly dependent on the particular
theoretical view taken of market operations. In this chapter, we concentrate on two well-
established approaches within the mainstream of economic theory, namely, neo-classical and
welfare economics. We review how each approach has been used both to specify ways in which
the state should and should not intervene in land and property markets and to evaluate the impact
of public policy on such markets.
Adams, D., Dunse, N. and White, M. (2005) Conceptualising state-market relations in land and
property: the mainstream contribution of neo-classical and welfare economics, pp. 17-36 in
Adams, D., Watkins, C. and White, M. (eds) Planning, Public Policy and Property Markets, Blackwell,
Oxford.
During the past 20 years, there has been a remarkable growth in institutional approaches across
the social sciences. Similar principles underpin the institutional analysis of state-market relations
in economics, politics, sociology and related disciplines, despite the confusion often caused by the
different terminology used in each. Nevertheless, while land and property markets have been
extensively discussed from an institutional paradigm, such analysis remains controversial and open
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to misinterpretation. In this chapter, we therefore consider whether the advance of institutionalism
should be regarded as an extension of, or challenge to, mainstream economics.
Adams D. (2008) Mapping out the regulatory environment and its interaction with land and
property markets, Energy Policy, 36, 4570-4574.
The purpose of this paper is to explain how the regulatory environment created by planning and
building regulations interacts with land and property markets. Since this regulatory environment
operates as a form of intervention within property markets in general and the development process
in particular, it is essential first to understand the nature, structure and operation of land and
property markets. These are covered in the first section. The second section identifies the aims
and components of the planning system and building regulations. From this basis, four broad types
of policy intervention are reviewed in the third section. These cover policies that seek to shape,
regulate or stimulate market activity, and those that aim to build state or market capacity to produce
desired outcomes. The final section uses the private residential development process as a case
study to explore the extent to which state intervention can influence producer-consumer
relationships in one important market sector. The paper argues that effective intervention in land
and property markets requires the creation of a broad range of policy tools and their appropriate
deployment to suit particular market circumstances.
Adams, D., Leishman, C. and Moore, C. (2009) Why not build faster? Explaining the reluctance
of UK housebuilders to speed up the supply of new homes for owner occupation, Town Planning
Review, 80, 291-314.
This paper investigates how speculative housebuilders determine the speed at which approved
housing sites are developed. It finds that where competition for land is intense, housebuilders must
assume the highest possible sale prices to make winning bids for sites. Such bids are viable only
because the release of land is restricted by the planning system, while the release of homes is
managed on a site-by-site basis by builders to achieve the target sales rates underpinning earlier
land bids. These factors have combined to encourage caution about the capacity of local housing
markets to ‘absorb’ new-build supply. Even if the planning system released substantially more land,
it may take some time before housebuilders responded by building out faster. While the research
predates the recent collapse in speculative housebuilding, it is argued that these findings are likely
still to be valid once the development of homes for owner-occupation recovers from the current
recession.
Adams, D. and Tiesdell, S. (2010) Planners as market actors: Rethinking state-market relations in
land and property development, Planning Theory and Practice, 11, 187-207.
This paper challenges the dichotomous distinction between planning and the market promoted by
mainstream economists, by arguing that markets should be seen as socially constructed not given.
Drawing on recent developments in institutional and behavioural economics, it contends that what
is required is not for planners to become market actors, but rather to realise they are already ‘market
actors’ intricately involved in framing and re-framing property markets. By highlighting planners’
potential to re-make, rather than merely accept, market conditions, the paper calls for state-market
relations in land and property to be accorded a central place within the new spatial planning.
Adams, D., Croudace, R. and Tiesdell, S. (2011) Design codes, opportunity space and the
marketability of new housing, Environment and Planning B, 38, 289-306.
This paper is about state-market relations in speculative housebuilding, with specific reference to
the means by which higher quality design can be achieved in new residential developments.
Applying the concept of opportunity space, the paper investigates the extent to which form-
based/design codes change developers’ opportunity space both in absolute terms and vis-à-vis the
opportunity space of designers. It interrogates this using evidence from a major design coded
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residential development in the south-east of England, drawing on interviews with housebuilders.
It concludes that design codes have the potential to transform the market context for new
housebuilding, but that the typical housebuilder has yet to be convinced of their business
advantages.
Tiesdell, S. and Adams, D. (2011) Real estate development, urban design and the tools approach
to public policy, pp. 1-33 in Tiesdell, S. and Adams, D. (eds) Urban Design in the Real Estate
Development Process, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford.
Providing the context for the book, this chapter is in four main parts. The first explores the real
estate development process. The second discusses opportunity space theory. The third introduces
the tools approach in public policy, discusses urban design policy instruments and presents a new
typology. The fourth part discusses developers’ decision environments, and then outlines the
structure of the book.
Adams, D. and Payne, S. (2011) ‘Business as usual’? - Exploring the design response of UK
speculative housebuilders to the brownfield development challenge, pp. 199-218 in Tiesdell, S. and
Adams, D. (eds) Urban Design in the Real Estate Development Process, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford.
This chapter is concerned with the mass production of new housing by speculative builders and
the extent to which its design can be influenced for the better by policy actions. As a starting
point, it is important to remember that design is but one element of the speculative builder’s
business strategy and is by no means the most significant. Indeed, more attention is usually paid
in speculative housebuilding to acquiring land, achieving government approvals, securing finance,
organising construction, and marketing the completed development than to matters of design
(whether conceived as the appearance and functionality of the finished product or the problem-
solving process by which it is delivered). Design is thus embedded within, and reflective of, the
broader residential development process as well as the particular business strategy of each
housebuilder. Both of these create an important contextual framework for design decisions, which
changes over time in response to both social, economic and institutional circumstances and the
particular development opportunities available at any moment.
Adams, D., Croudace, R. and Tiesdell, S. (2012) Exploring the notional property developer as a
policy construct, Urban Studies, 49, 2577-2596.
This paper explores how far policy-makers understand the structure of the development industry,
the perceived characteristics of developers and the extent to which such actors can be considered
policy-responsive. If these matters are poorly understood, the effectiveness of planning policy may
be undermined, especially where the private sector is responsible for undertaking most
development. The paper is based upon empirical research on the Scottish Executive’s perceptions
of, and policy stances towards developers between 1999 and 2007. It finds that Executive appeared
to have only limited understanding of what drives the development process or motivates individual
developers and seemed unfamiliar with important differences within the industry, sectorally and
geographically. Instead, ‘the notional property developer’ was incorrectly conceived as a malleable
and potentially compliant partner with shared objectives to the State. The paper calls for a more
thorough understanding of the development industry as a pre-requisite to effective urban policy-
making.
Adams, D., Leishman, C. and Watkins, C. (2012) Housebuilder networks and residential land
markets, Urban Studies, 49, 705-720.
The commercial prospects of speculative housebuilders depend crucially on successful land
acquisitions. This paper presents new evidence revealing the importance housebuilders attach to
networks with other important actors in securing future land supplies. Since networks depend on
trust, reputation and voluntary collaboration, they indicate the importance of social relations within
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the industry. The paper argues that UK speculative housebuilders rely more on networks than
markets to source land and that they structure those networks to enhance their own competitive
positions. Reflecting Granovetter’s (1973) belief in the strength of weak ties, the paper emphasises
the breadth not depth of housebuilder networks and contends that social relations within the
industry are primarily dependent on pragmatic considerations of mutual self-interest.
Adams, D., Tiesdell, S. and White, J. (2013) Smart parcelization and place diversity: reconciling real
estate and urban design priorities, Journal of Urban Design, 18, 459-477.
This paper examines the meaning and significance of place diversity and explores how its
achievement may well depend on specific institutional relations between different actors in the real
estate development process. It calls for master developers to engage in the ‘smart parcelisation’ of
large development sites through design-sensitive subdivision, reflected in conditions attached to
plot sales or leases. By looking at practical examples, it explores how this concept could refashion
speculative housebuilding in the UK. The paper highlights the potential and limitations of ‘smart
parcelisation’, while emphasising the need to link development and design considerations in future
policy and research agendas.
Heurkens, E., Adams, D. and Hobma, F. (2015) Planners as market actors: The role of local
planning authorities in UK’s urban regeneration practice, Town Planning Review, 86, 625-650.
At a time of public sector retrenchment in urban regeneration, and academic enquiry into the role
of urban planning in a market environment, it has become increasingly important to understand
how planners can help create better places. Recent studies suggest that planners already are, and
must behave as, market actors by deploying planning tools strategically to influence market
behaviour. This plan-shaped perspective of markets replaces the general conception of planning
versus or outside markets. Instead it considers the interactions between public and private actors
in urban projects as a fruitful means to understand the effectiveness of planner roles. In this
context, this paper examines how local planning authorities use a variety of policy instruments to
influence urban development projects and turn planning strategies into action. To understand how
planning tools can be used to achieve successful results in urban regeneration practice, the paper
presents a cross-comparison of strategic large-scale mixed-use city centre development projects in
Bristol and Liverpool.
Adams, D. (2015) United Kingdom: Growth, structure and priorities of the UK real estate
development industry: the longstanding division between commercial and residential developers,
pp 46-65 in Squires, G. and Heurkens, E. (eds) International Approaches to Real Estate Development,
Routledge, London
This chapter explores the growth, structure and priorities of the UK real estate development
industry. It highlights the longstanding division between commercial and residential developers,
while differentiating between those developers who have a long-term interest in the value of the
product they create and those who do not. The chapter shows how the commercial and residential
sectors are both dominated by large well-established companies with the capacity to operate across
the UK, even if they choose to concentrate their activities in particular regions. It emphasises the
volatility and spatial unevenness of real estate development in the UK, revealing the significant
financial losses experienced by major companies as a result of the post-2008 financial downturn
and the tendency among many players in the industry to concentrate their activities on what are
perceived to be low-risk locations, such as London and the south-east. Although real estate
development in the UK is primarily a private-sector activity, it takes place within the context of
significant State intervention, especially through a comprehensive planning system. This turns
planners into a significant constitutive element of real estate markets in the UK – indeed the
continuous and dynamic of this interaction means that planners themselves operate as market
actors, even if they may not formally acknowledge this characterisation. Nevertheless, the chapter
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argues that although planning has a significant impact on the overall location and quantity of
development produced in the UK, its influence on development quality is less apparent as a result
of which many developers still continue to create places that function badly, impede social and
economic interaction or have little visual appeal.
In addition, Chapter 11 of the book (Shaping markets by strategic transformation) draws heavily
on Adams, D., Tiesdell, S. and Weeks G. (2011b) Delivering Better Places in Scotland: Learning
from Broader Experience, Edinburgh: Scottish Government. This can be downloaded at:
https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/3000/https://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc
/336587/0110158.pdf
Key parts of the book are also summarised in Adams, D., and Watkins, C. (2014) The Value of
Planning, Royal Town Planning Institute, London. This can be downloaded from
https://www.rtpi.org.uk/policy-and-research/programmes/value-of-planning
‘Shaping Places’ is also still available to purchase – see Shaping Places: Urban Planning, Design
and Development - 1st Edition - (routledge.com) where you will also find a full list of contents.
The book is also stocked by many academic libraries and by the British Library1 so you may also
be able to obtain a copy through Inter-Library Loan.
David Adams
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