Book excerpt: Looking at the lessons we can learn from international research in urban and regional planning, this book explores the challenges in using cross-country studies. The contributors address how to approach researching planning in other countries, and how to then diffuse the planning information. Key topics include: comparable urban data, and how to use it working with international agencies methodological issues in cross-country research translating theory into practice Case studies include researching new towns in France and Poland, and problems doing empirical work in Eastern Europe.