Beyond YIMBY vs NIMBY: From Locke to the gentrification crisis in the United States

Abstract

Gentrification as a socio-economic and political phenomenon has existed for decades, at least according to its current definition. Although justifiably considered problematic by residents and popular culture, the associated urban blight, eviction, displacement, and redevelopment is often facilitated through deliberate actions of local governments, advocacy organizations, and the private sector. As a crisis of unaffordability has plagued the housing markets of many American cities in recent years, this paper seeks to determine the forces at play making policy which perpetuates such gentrification. Another focus is how the ideological motivations of groups promoting development is rooted in centuries-old justifications of land appropriation from indigenous groups. This paper will also connect and analyze how Chapter V of John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government is an indirect ideological basis for the ‘YIMBY’ (an acronym for “Yes, in my backyard”) movement and their market urbanist beliefs. While remaining conscientious to not trivialize the effects of settler-colonialism, a through-line between it and gentrification is made.