American Development Control : Parallels and Paradoxes from an English Perspective

How does development control work in the US? How is it applied by local governments and constrained by the constitution?

Are zoning and other control mechanisms efficient, effective and respected?

How much can a community exact from developers and is it right to trade permits for community benefits?

Questions are set and observations made as one interested visitor gives his perception of the US planning process.

Recent trends in the US have led to more regulation and discretionary control while the British planning system is being streamlined in the interests of deregulation.

Despite different legal starting points and attitudes to development there are real parallels between the two systems.

Richard Wakefield provides food for thought on both sides of the Atlantic.