Introduction—An Historical Approach

Abstract

Building development and planning are activities that are very much concerned with the everyday life of ordinary people. Factors such as where people live, where they work and where they spend the reward for that work all create a demand for some form of development. Indeed most human activities create a demand for buildings or building work of some kind. The ability to meet this demand depends on the extent of our natural resources and this constraint, taken with the complexities of modern living, has made planning essential and some form of statutory control over development at least desirable.