The Many Dimensions of NIMBY

Matthew J. Kiefer, a partner in the Boston law firm of Goulston & Storrs, P.C., performs a little social and psychological analysis on NIMBYism on Planetizen. Besides revealing the history of NIMBYism, and how it works (and sometimes doesn’t) to mitigate development, he offers us a host of sister acronyms: LULUs (Locally Undesirable Land Uses); NOTEs (Not Over There Either); NIABYs (Not In Anyone’s Backyard); BANANAs (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone); and NOPEs (Not On Planet Earth!). “It is also possible to find references to CAVE people (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) and NIMTOOs (Not In My Term Of Office),” he writes.

“Filling the vacuum left by minimalist government, atrophied land-use planning, and an eroding social contract, NIMBYism is the bitter fruit of a pluralistic democracy in which all views carry equal weight,” he says, but he’s not a NIMBY for NIMBYs entirely. “In an improvised and very democratic way, it forces mitigation measures to be considered, distributes project impacts, protects property values, and helps people adjust to change in their surroundings,” he says. “It is a corrective mechanism that, if allowed to function properly, can even help to preserve a constituency for development.”
The Social Functions of NIMBYism [Planetizen]
Nimby Door. Photo by ekai.