Understanding Opposition to Apartment Buildings

TY - JOUR

T1 - Understanding Opposition to Apartment Buildings

AU - Larsen, Martin Vinæs

AU - Nyholt, Niels

PY - 2024/9/2

Y1 - 2024/9/2

N2 - New apartment buildings offer potential relief from high housing costs, but they encounter significant local opposition. Using a vignette survey experiment, we explore why citizens oppose the construction of apartment buildings. We find limited evidence that this opposition stems from concerns over congestion or out-group bias. Citizens tend to oppose taller buildings irrespective of whether they attract more or undesirable residents. Instead, opposition to apartment buildings seems to be driven by local preservationism. Respondents do not think that tall buildings fit into their predominantly low-rise neighborhoods. To substantiate the importance of preservationism, we zoom in on projects that were proposed near another apartment building. Here, respondents agree that apartment buildings fit in and they oppose them less. These results may help explain why cities sprawl rather than densify, and why it is difficult to build affordable housing in expensive cities.

AB - New apartment buildings offer potential relief from high housing costs, but they encounter significant local opposition. Using a vignette survey experiment, we explore why citizens oppose the construction of apartment buildings. We find limited evidence that this opposition stems from concerns over congestion or out-group bias. Citizens tend to oppose taller buildings irrespective of whether they attract more or undesirable residents. Instead, opposition to apartment buildings seems to be driven by local preservationism. Respondents do not think that tall buildings fit into their predominantly low-rise neighborhoods. To substantiate the importance of preservationism, we zoom in on projects that were proposed near another apartment building. Here, respondents agree that apartment buildings fit in and they oppose them less. These results may help explain why cities sprawl rather than densify, and why it is difficult to build affordable housing in expensive cities.

KW - NIMBYism

KW - experiment

KW - housing

KW - public opinion

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85210273617&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1561/113.00000092

DO - 10.1561/113.00000092

M3 - Journal article

SN - 2689-4823

VL - 5

SP - 29

EP - 46

JO - Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy

JF - Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy

IS - 1

ER -