PREMISE: The planned unit development of suburban communities can accomplish three primary housing goals: first, the reduction of the per unit cost of housing; second, the inclusion of more public open space and; third, the provision of a more rational land use pattern of growth. PRESENTATION: Part one introduces the thesis and describes the present suburban housing problem in perspective. It discusses one particular aspect of the suburban housing problem--"the rising cost of land." Finally, Part one proposes the planned unit development as a possible alternative to the rising cost of land and states the criteria for this proposition. Part two proves the proposition by comparing the advantages of the planned unit development over the conventional subdivision's uniform zoning to three divergent groups: the developer, the town, and the buyer. Part three concludes the thesis by analyzing the record of the planned unit development for solving the suburban housing problem and points up some of the implications which the planned unit development has upon suburban form.