I grew up in the era of NIMBY, but my version of NIMBY revolved around power plants, especially nuclear. Today, however, it’s being redefined in more ways than one.
Let’s start with the insult itself, because I think it’s becoming a somewhat outdated acronym.
For decades, “Not In My Backyard” has been shorthand for communities opposing development they don’t want nearby. But I’m not sure that’s what we’re seeing anymore. In fact, I’m fairly certain it has evolved into something new.
Increasingly, the question isn’t: “Why are you building this here?” Instead, it’s: “Why are you building this here without talking to us?”
America needs infrastructure. Remember Build Back Better?
AI needs power. Manufacturing needs power and water. The grid needs transmission. Businesses need broadband. Communities need housing. The country needs more industrial capacity.
My brother, a staunch environmentalist, drives an electric vehicle but doesn’t really think about the infrastructure that fuels it—the charging stations, substations, distribution lines, power plants, transmission infrastructure, and everything else that makes that seemingly simple act possible.
And that’s the point. Do you want to spend half your life staring at your phone or laptop? You don’t but you do. And each one of those things has to occupy somebody’s backyard. That’s where the old infrastructure playbook starts to break down.
You can’t announce a major project, hold a public meeting after the important decisions have already been made, hand out talking points and expect people to trust you.
The conversation has to start much earlier.
MUCH. MUCH earlier.
If you want to effectively site infrastructure today, you must:
- Engage before you announce.
- Listen before you explain.
- Understand before you defend.
- Demonstrate the benefit before asking for support.
I’ve seen this firsthand working with utilities, infrastructure organizations, economic-development organizations and communities. The engineering can be sound. The economics can work. The regulatory approvals can be obtained. And a project can still run into enormous friction because the people affected by it don’t believe they were treated as participants in the process.
That’s why I think we’re entering an era of what I would call “Social Permission to Build.”
It’s not a permit. It’s not a zoning approval. It’s something less tangible—but increasingly important:
A community’s willingness to believe that a project belongs there.
That matters enormously as we enter the next generation of infrastructure: data centers, transmission lines, advanced manufacturing, semiconductor facilities, energy projects, water infrastructure and the list goes on.
These aren’t abstract investments. They occupy real places, consume real resources and change real communities. And communities are increasingly asking reasonable questions:
What does this mean for us?
What do we get?
What does it cost us?
What happens if things go wrong?
And, perhaps most importantly:
Did anyone ask us?
The answer can’t always be: “Yes, but here’s why you’re wrong.” Sometimes the answer needs to be: “You’re right. We should have asked sooner.”
The next generation of infrastructure won’t be built simply by finding enough land, power and capital. It will be built by finding communities willing to say yes. That’s why I think the new NIMBY isn’t necessarily: Not In My Backyard.
It’s: Not Without My Say.
