Meaning and related terms
NIMBY came into wide use in the United States in the 1980s to describe opposition to hazardous waste facilities. The opposite, competition to host facilities that benefit an area, is called PIMFY (Please In My Front Yard); extreme opposition to building anything is BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything); and a land use that residents do not want is called a LULU (Locally Unwanted Land Use).
Why it happens
- Asymmetric costs and benefits: the benefits spread widely across society, while costs such as noise, odour, risk and lower house prices fall on residents near the facility.
- Risk perception: residents perceive more risk than expert assessments, and uncertainty and distrust of government feed opposition.
- Procedural fairness: deciding without residents' input and then announcing the decision provokes resistance to the process as much as to the outcome.
Compensation and crowding-out
O'Hare (1977) argued that siting problems could be solved by compensating nearby residents for their costs and stressed the strategic importance of compensation. Yet in Frey and Oberholzer-Gee's (1997) survey on a Swiss nuclear waste repository, acceptance was 50.8% when no compensation was mentioned but fell to 24.6% when monetary compensation was offered. This is interpreted as a 'crowding-out' effect, in which money displaces intrinsic motivation such as a sense of civic duty.
Korean cases
Korea set up support for surrounding areas with the 1995 Act on Promotion of Installation of Waste Disposal Facilities and Assistance to Adjacent Areas. Radioactive waste repository plans met fierce opposition at Anmyeon Island (1990) and Buan (2003), but in 2005, after support under a special act and local referendums, Gyeongju was chosen as the site with 89.5% approval. The 2017 conflict over building a special school in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, is another well-known case.
Ways to resolve it
Dear (1992) recommended not dismissing NIMBY as mere selfishness but communicating with residents from the early stages, disclosing information and adjusting the facility's design and operation together with them. Fair siting procedures, resident participation and monitoring, appropriate compensation and local benefits, and deliberative processes are used together. For conflict management in general see conflict management and ADR, and for comparing alternatives see policy analysis and alternatives.
References
- O'Hare, M. (1977). "Not on my block you don't": Facility siting and the strategic importance of compensation. Public Policy, 25(4), 407-458.
- Dear, M. (1992). Understanding and overcoming the NIMBY syndrome. Journal of the American Planning Association, 58(3), 288-300.
- Frey, B. S., & Oberholzer-Gee, F. (1997). The cost of price incentives: An empirical analysis of motivation crowding-out. American Economic Review, 87(4), 746-755.
- 폐기물처리시설 설치촉진 및 주변지역지원 등에 관한 법률. 국가법령정보센터. https://www.law.go.kr/