Book excerpt: Real estate development shapes the way people live and work, playing a crucial role in determining our built environment. Around the world, real estate development reflects both universal human needs and region-specific requirements, and with the rise of globalization there is an increasing need to better understand the full complexity of global real estate development. This Companion provides comprehensive coverage of the major contemporary themes and issues in the field of real estate development research. Topics covered include: social and spatial impact markets and economics organization and management finance and investment environment and sustainability design land use policy and governance. A team of international experts across the fields of real estate, planning, geography, economics and architecture reflect the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of real estate studies, providing the book with a depth and breadth of original research. Following on from the success of the textbook International Approaches to Real Estate Development, the Routledge Companion to Real Estate Development provides the up-to-date research needed for a full and sophisticated understanding of the subject. It will be an invaluable resource to students, researchers and professionals wishing to study real estate development on an international scale.