There’s an emerging faction of urban evolutionists in Denver proclaiming, “Yes, in my backyard!” This grassroots group flips the script and welcomes the dense, mixed-use housing that others reject.
Eleven district council members and the two councilwomen at-large gather in the City and County Building, in Room 451, on Mondays at 5:30 p.m., usually to hear from a slim showing of constituents examining local issues from their podium.
If the night’s agenda happens to include zoning, though, the space might feel cramped with “40 people from a neighborhood wearing matching t-shirts that say, ‘No,'” as CU Denver Assistant Professor Ken Schroeppel describes it. Council meetings, he explains, are a prime place to see NIMBY in action.
NIMBY — short for “Not in My Backyard” — is more an attitude than a movement, according to Josh Stephens, writing for Next City, characterized by general civic opposition to infrastructure projects, usually housing.