Presenting over 90 recent projects from Western Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere, the authors argue that imaginatively designed high or medium density, low or medium rise grouped housing, even if built to modest budgets, can be a highly desirable form of habitation. This study, featuring the work of internationally renowned architects such as Herman Hertzberger, Ricardo Bofill and Fisher Friedman Associates, includes chapters on housing in urban and rural locations, infill and hillside developments, designing for special needs and energy-saving and participatory housing, setting out the design principles appropriate in each case. It looks at how new housing may be integrated with its setting without recourse to slavish imitation of the existing architecture and addresses the need to create distinctive homes that people really want to live in. The projects, drawn from some 18 countries, are illustrated with plans and photographs. The book is aimed at architects and their clients in both the public and private sectors, as well as being of interest to students and self-builders.