Housing and Urban Development Indicators: A Good Idea Whose Time Has Returned
这篇特刊导言介绍了住房与城市发展指标在城市研究中的作用，描述了超过50个国家参与的国际研究项目，并概述了本期论文的背景。
This special issue of Real Estate Economics is devoted to “Housing and Urban Development Indicators.” The issue has been underwritten by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development as a U.S. Contribution to the United Nation's Habitat II Conference, held in Istanbul, Turkey in June 1996. This introduction first briefly explains the role of indicators in urban research. Current research on indicators is then described, including a major international research effort undertaken in over fifty countries with support from numerous academics and other researchers, the United Nations, the World Bank and a number of governments. Finally, the papers in this issue are introduced and placed in context.