• Community leaders and public planning officials agree that the key to growing smarter is to encourage compact development, including apartments. Developers eager to meet these housing needs are often thwarted, however, by misguided local not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) activists.
  
  
• The good news is that there is an ever-increasing body of research that indicates that apartments (including affordable apartments) are not a threat to local property values and are a net plus to communities.
  
  
• This white paper is designed to help apartment firms overcome NIMBY opposition. It is organized in three sections. The first section details various tools that firms can employ in their NIMBY struggles. The second section summarizes unbiased third-party research reports that refute many of the common myths associated with rental housing, focusing primarily on the notion that apartments cause nearby property values to decline. The final section explains the importance of good design to overcome NIMBY complaints.
  
  
• Suggested distribution includes:
  • General Counsels
  • Directors of Development
  • Research Directors

NMHC Contact Information:
Michael Tucker
Communications Director
202/974-2360
mtucker@nmhc.org