Affordable Housing and NIMBYism: is there a way forward?

Corianne Payton Scally & Tighe J. Rosie, "Democracy in Action?: NIMBY as Impediment to Equitable Affordable Housing Siting," Housing Studies 30 (2015): 5

The take-away: With respect to the impact of local politics on planning affordable housing development, this article highlights the prevalence ‘NIMBY’ism in many local contexts where it threatens to block planners from successfully advocating for equitable housing outcomes. The authors conclude that “planners and policy-makers need to anticipate opposition, better understand public perceptions [of affordable housing], develop more effective processes for countering opposition and changing perceptions, and recommit themselves to equitable outcomes” (764).

Abstract: Effective democracy requires participation. However, the history of urban politics, housing policy, and neighborhood revitalization has demonstrated that wealth and power often overshadow participation and community activism. Proponents of equity planning and advocacy planning in the USA have fought to include vulnerable, marginalized populations within planning decisions, yet there have been few examples of this in action. We apply Fainstein’s principles of The Just City (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2010) to investigate the extent to which local opposition affects affordable housing development. In doing so, we question the extent to which housing policy and planning in the USA successfully achieve the goals of equity and fairness, or whether not-in-my- backyard forces operating within (and beyond) “democratic” planning processes override those principles in siting decisions. Our results suggest that community opposition is a considerable barrier to the efficient siting of affordable housing, and propose changes to local planning and implementation strategies in order to minimize opposition and produce more equitable outcomes. 

Full article (requires access)