Description
A battle-tested opponent of NIMBYism lays out a strategy for overcoming local resistance to development. Thomsett articulates the developerÆs point of view on the not-in-my-back-yard phenomenon, offering tips on meeting with local leaders, avoiding litigation, and working with the media. Professional planners can pick up a few tips for their own dealings with neighborhood groups, while gaining insight into how developers approach the review and approval process.
Claiming that sprawl has decreased during the past two decades, Thomsett characterizes opponents of development as misguided or even ôparanoid.ö He catalogs NIMBY groupsÆ tactics, including public protests, letter writing, petition drives, sponsoring candidates for elected office, drumming up attendance at public meetings, and ôvilificationö of developers. He endorses early and frequent communication between developers and neighbors as an antidote to those tactics.
Thomsett provides tips on framing the case for different audiences: public agencies, elected officials, neighbors, and the media. He offers specific counterarguments to common NIMBY positions such as increased cost of living and traffic. Detailed instructions on attending neighborhood meetings, making presentations to neighborhood groups, plugging into the local feedback loop, and entering mediation are included.
Table of Contents
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