“This is a knowledgeable, intelligent, and highly readable account of an issue that has featured prominently in French politics and public policy during the last quarter of a century.” (Journal of Planning Education and Research, 8 September 2008) "It's a fine book. Doubly so, for not only does it meld theoretical deftness with convincing empirical information, it also has the virtue of taking us out of our English speaking milieu...Are you an inquisitive urban geographer? If so, having read Dikeç as your indispensable primer, next time you're in Paris leave the Eiffel Tower behind and go out to La Courneuve. Or in Strasbourg, view the cathedral but then board the Line C tram right next to it which takes you out to Le Neuhof, like La Courneuve one of the original sixteen social development urban neighborhoods. Get a taste of another, and real, urban France. Dikeç has." (Geographical Review, December 2010) "Dikec¸’s examination of French national policy development toward the suburban banlieues is tight and focused in its objectives and execution." (Annals of the Association of American Geographers and The Professional Geographer)