"... This treatise, written in lucid language and amply illustrated with useful figures, plates and tables, provides much fodder for further inquiries. It can no doubt constitute a key reference if not a benchmark for professionals, academics and students

Lawrence Wai-chung Lai won a Commonwealth scholarship to study town planning at the University of Sydney in 1983-84 where he obtained a Royal Australian Planning Institute (NSW) prize for outstanding academic performance. He worked as a Town Planner with the Town Planning Office, Lands and Works Branch and the Environmental Protection Department before joining the University of Hong Kong. He is now an associate professor in the Department of Real Estate and Construction at the University of Hong Kong. Ki Fong is a BSc (Surveying) graduate of the University of Hong Kong and is now working in the Lands Department.