Book excerpt: The geographic, social, and economic structure of settlement areas must be considered in overall regional planning. Beginning with a review of the development of new urban settlements in Israel since 1948, Berler analyzes proposals and policies dealing with underdeveloped areas and includes a proposal for a regional focalization program. He attempts to establish methods and criteria to measure the "power of attraction" of the new urban settlements and to help understand the complex processes which influence development of towns in Israel. Numerous diagrams, tables, maps, appendixes, and bibliographies complete this comprehensive study.