Harvard Professor Naomi Oreskes' recently issued a plea to "stop hating on NIMBYs." But the righteousness of NIMBYism, or the "hatred" thereof, depends, in large part, on whether opposition takes place in an urban or rural setting.
"[Oreskes] is really referring to rural NIMBYs opposed to big-time infrastructure projects with deep-pocketed backers -- she doesn't touch on the urban situation at all. To most urban planners, the classic NIMBY is an urban resident who opposes intensive urban development, such as an office building or large, high-density residential development. They base their opposition on much the same grounds that Oreskes cites: aesthetics, environmentalism, community character."
"Progressive urban planners, many of whom are avowed environmentalists, often decry NIMBYism in cities because it can stand in the way of genuine improvements. All too often NIMBYs obstruct projects that are intended to revitalize neighborhoods, supply needed housing, or even create environmental benefits."
FULL STORY: Not All NIMBYs Are Alike
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Labels like "YIMBY" and "NIMBY" may be crude—but so what? One of them wants to solve America's housing crises. The other does not. Un-housed and under-housed people cannot wait for a perfect ideology to come along, writes Josh Stephens.
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NIMBYism is often expressed as concerns about crime, congestion, schools, property values, and “quality of life.” But when developments are built these fears rarely come to pass.
NIMBY Politics Sway the Fight to Contain Coronavirus
A week after the Orange County city of Costa Mesa filed a restraining order against the federal government and the state of California over the use of a state-owned facility as an isolation site for coronavirus patients, the feds dropped the plan.
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Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
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More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
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Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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