NIMBYism With a Twist

19 March 2004 - 5:00am

Low-income residents of Brewerytown, PA are saying no to the development of 200 new upscale townhomes.

Generally, the NIMBY label (not-in-my-back-yard) is applied to middle class suburban homeowners who oppose lower income housing in their communities. In the case of Brewerytown, PA, it is low-income minorities who are slow to welcome middle class whites. One longtime resident fears that the proposed construction of luxury townhomes will change the character of his community and displace older families. In his words, 'we're not anti-development. Our desire is to see this neighborhood become wonderful. The only difference between our desire and others is that we want to be here when that happens.'"

Source: The Philadelphia Daily News, March 16, 2004
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The salient historical question is, of course, what made some cities fail while others succeeded?