Publication Title
Social Science Quarterly
Document Type
Article
Department or Program
Politics
Publication Date
10-7-2024
Keywords
housing, NIMBY, race, threat, whiteness
Abstract
Objective: We use a survey experiment to study what explains white “not in my backyard” opposition (NIMBYism) to dense and affordable housing—racial threat, material self-interest, or both. Methods: In a survey experiment on white U.S. respondents, we vary the presence of a racial prime about black and Latinx community organizations and the proximity of the housing development to the subject's home. We then measure levels of support for a proposed hypothetical housing development, willingness to take political action in support of or opposition to the development, and support for a number of housing-related and redistributive policies. Results: We find that a racial threat, a material self-interest threat, and a combined racial and material self-interest threat decrease support for a proposed housing development. These effects are moderated by racial resentment, ideology, and partisanship such that the effects of the treatments are primarily driven by Republicans, conservatives, and the highly racially resentful. These groups are more threatened than others by either Latinx and black people moving in, the development being in their own neighborhood, or both. Conclusion: These findings indicate that racial and material perceived threats play important and interlocking roles in white Americans’ resistance to multifamily housing being built. In a context where local political institutions empower an unrepresentative group of disproportionately white, economically privileged neighbors to mount opposition to dense housing, it is important to understand how white opposition to new dense housing is shaped by racial and financial concerns.
Recommended Citation
Britt, Lucy, and Andreas Jozwiak. 2024. “ White NIMBYism and Diversity Close to Home.” Social Science Quarterly 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13457
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Bates College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Required Publisher's Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Britt, Lucy, and Andreas Jozwiak. 2024. “White NIMBYism and Diversity Close to Home.” Social Science Quarterly 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13457. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.