NIMBYs, For Better or Worse

NIMBYism served a purpose once, says Scott Doyon, preventing all sorts of heinous projects from being built. But eventually, it became about stopping ALL change. Doyon has some recommendations for changing course.

1 minute read

July 30, 2011, 7:00 AM PDT

By Hazel Borys

Scott says that redirecting NIMBYs is firstly about regaining trust:

"You don't have to be a dyed in the wool treehugger, preservationist ideologue or evangelical New Urbanist to acknowledge that, more often than not, the past fifty years of growth and development has resulted in a downward trade. That is, what we've built has been inferior to whatever was lost."

So given that, why should locals trust the development process at all? Doyon explains that there are developers and city planners doing excellent work now and NIMBYs need to learn to "cowboy up and accept that that person is now your ally. Not your enemy."

Thanks to Hazel Borys

FULL STORY: NIMBY Nation: Mad as hell and I don’t blame ‘em. For now.

Friday, July 29, 2011 in PlaceShakers

Community / Economic Development North America NIMBY Public Policy Development Public Engagement Scott Doyon Alpharetta View More

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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