It is commonly assumed that architects and urban planners are responsible for the design of our cities. However, particularly since the advent of global capitalism, urban expansion worldwide has been driven primarily by developers and construction companies in their pursuit of profit. Although the market-driven impacts on urban space are considerable, the mechanisms of this influential industry have received comparatively little attention in architectural history.

This book brings the actors of the real estate industry—from financiers to developers and construction companies to media strategists—to the forefront as producers of architecture. It establishes real estate development as an important field of research in architectural history and presents methods and evidence for its study. In this way, it deepens our understanding of how cities are shaped and how speculative construction has shaped the built environment from the 18th century to the present.