In cities throughout the world, old industrial waterfront land is being redeveloped into luxury housing, offices, tourist attractions, cultural amenities and shopping centres. These developments are geared towards attracting high-income residents, tourists and investors to the city. Because they are iconic and aim to be a catalyst for further development, they are often referred to as flagship project. Two waterfront redevelopment projects: the Kop van Zuid in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Glasgow Harbour in Scotland, are examples of flagships. Leith, a gentrifying neighbourhood, is also an example of where this type of activity has occurred. But who profits from these developments? Gaining more insight into this question is the central focus of this research. This has been done by using two different approaches. The first is to examine the positions that different actors play in the projects (local governments, private developers, housing associations, etc) and how that influences the types of goals which are formulated. It was clear that the two projects examined had different goals which were dependent on the composition of actors involved. In Rotterdam the municipality plays a large role and this led to the inclusion of social goals aimed at bringing the benefits of the Kop van Zuid to a wider social and spatial reach. Glasgow Harbour is a private sector development where the main aim is profit. The municipality plays a much more minor role and its powers are also more limited. This attention towards social return is an example where the composition of actors leads to different goals and outcomes; however, the goal of creating or stimulating a high-end development to attract or keep affluent residents in the city (often seen as gentrification) is one which transcends both projects. So despite some of the social goals in the Kop van Zuid, both projects are largely aimed at a higher-income segment of the population. What is clear is that by examining developments from the perspective of their goals and ...