Book excerpt: This book presents a new way of thinking about, teaching, learning, and practicing real estate development. Real Estate Development Matrix describes the process in a two-dimensional model and presents seven Development Stages which form the horizontal axis, and eight sets of Development Tasks which form the vertical axis to define a 56-cell matrix. In each cell, money is spent and risks are taken to achieve certain tasks and thereby create (or destroy) value. This holistic process considers the entire life cycle of real estate from its "green field" inception to its "brown field" state. The book is written by a real estate developer and academic, and the presented material is conceptual, practical, and non-technical. Jargon has been minimized as much as possible as the author introduces an entirely new model for real estate development that is both academically authoritative and developed in practice. It is aimed at a general professional audience participating in the development process, but equally the book is ideal for use as a textbook in undergraduate and graduate courses in real estate development, and an excellent supplemental text for business courses discussing real estate finance and investment. It may also be used as a textbook for professional courses, workshops, or seminars in real estate development. The book is supported by an interactive website at http://realestatedevelopmentmatrix.com/