Understanding Nimbyism as Local Preservationism

Responding to important societal challenges requires physical changes in local communities. Yet, such changes are often blocked by strong ``not-in-my-backyard'' opposition. Existing research explains this nimbyism in terms of homeowners' interest in protecting property values or an intent to exclude poor people and racial minorities. Instead, we argue that nimbyism reflects a desire to preserve the physical character of one's neighborhood. We investigate this local preservationism explanation using a large-scale vignette survey experiment, asking respondents to evaluate a hypothetical project we place on a personalized map of their neighborhood. Our analyses show that most residents have strong feelings about how their local area looks, and that those who do not exhibit less nimby opposition. We also show that citizens exhibit less nimby opposition towards projects that fit into the local built environment. In contrast, we find limited evidence for explanations related to home values and social exclusion.