Graaskamp’s Concept of Highest and Best Use

Abstract

The Rou/ae Group, /ne. and University of Ulster farnes A. Graaskamp, through his still-vital ideas and through the teaching of his life, was and continues to be one ofthe most important thought leaders ofthe real estate discipline. He was a pioneer of iconoclastic thought and action in the development of a multidisciplinary philosophy of real estate. The agenda he advanced and the intellectual power with which he advanced it challenged perceptions of mainstream thought and meaningfully advanced real estate thinking. While the Graaskampian view was not often the dominant view, every participant in real estate has been influenced to some degree by his ideas. Graaskamp was distinguished by the power of his intellect, his extraordinary oratorical skills, and especially by his pioneering and pursuing priorities that were different than those pursued by the majority of academicians. He emphasized real estate in the context of real-world decision making, and he employed an approach that diverged sharply from both the traditionalist old school and the finance quant new schoo!. Time and events are increasingly on the side of Graaskamp 's intellectual contributions becoming merged into and redirecting mainstream thought. Every serious teacher, researcher, student, and practitioner of real estate needs to be knowledgeable about the significance of the intellectual content of Graaskamp's work. A decade after his death, the mainstream is increasingly reflective of and resonant with Graaskamp's work. Graaskamp's holistic view of Ihe property world is today fully consistent with the globalization of society and business. Graaskamp's work contributed ways of thinking about real estate decisions that represented meaningful advances over prior theory and practice.