Housing for Me, but not for Thee: Values-Based Motivations of NIMBYism in Canada

Abstract

Canada is in the midst of a housing crisis that threatens the economic well-being of younger generations. One of the key barriers to ensuring the growth of the housing supply is local opposition to development, often called NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard). We use a pre-registered study on a nationally representative sample of adult Canadians to explore the values-based correlates of NIMBYism and opposition to local housing development, as well as opposition to public policies designed to increase the housing stock. We also evaluate whether values moderate the relative importance of housing characteristics (e.g., build size, proximity, affordable vs. market-rate housing) on support for local development using a conjoint experiment. We find that nativism and traditionalism are generally associated with opposition to housing development, while free-market attitudes and egalitarianism are associated with support, but the latter two value dimensions differ in their support for policy depending on the role of the state. We also show that Canadians are less supportive of rental developments and those that feature larger build sizes (e.g., high rise apartments) and that are more proximate to their own homes, but are more supportive of affordable (vs. market-rate) housing. The latter finding is concentrated among those with low levels of traditionalism, nativism, free-market support, and high levels of egalitarianism. Taken together, our results suggest a complicated and nuanced relationship between core values and attitudes toward housing, but one thing is abundantly clear: values matter.

Municipal Political Representation and Housing Affordability

“…The extent to which ideology matters is subject to increased scrutiny among scholars. (Rivard, Merkley and Stecuła, 2024) argue that understanding the role that ideology plays in opposing new housing requires moving beyond determining ideology by respondent self-placement. Instead, when ideology is measured as a series of batteries measuring support for the free-market, egalitarian values, traditionalism, racial animus, and nativism, opposition towards housing becomes more nuanced and complex (See also Trounstine, 2020Trounstine, , 2023, for a discussion of the effects of racial animus.…”

“…). The highest level of support for new housing being concentrated among egalitarians and free-marketers and opposed by those with higher racial prejudices, nativists, and traditionalists (Rivard, Merkley and Stecuła, 2024).…”