Future far from being as safe as houses
YIMBY movement strengthens
Natalie Rayment believes housing is more than just four walls and a roof — it’s a human right.
The Brisbane town planner founded YIMBY Qld in 2016 to promote “good development” and counter uninformed objection to new housing projects in existing urban areas.
Ms Rayment said she encouraged community participation in planning for the city’s growing population, but said NIMBY — not in my backyard — views had limited new housing to lower density single family dwellings on urban fringes.
“I love it when people are passionate about where they live, what they value and what they hope for in their community, and so participate in the planning for their neighbourhood, city or region,” said Ms Rayment, an executive director of Wolter Consulting Group.
“What I don’t appreciate is when people say no, without thinking through the consequences. I’d like people to be thinking, ‘if I say no to this, what am I saying yes to?’.”
Ms Rayment said the three biggest concerns expressed about new development related to protecting neighbourhood character, traffic generation and parking, and preservation of green space and the environment.
“YIMBY Qld is part of an international movement of people saying ‘yes’ to more housing, different types of housing, and the businesses and services that support liveability in our growing cities and regions,” she said.
“YIMBY was much more than an acronym and had become a movement particularly driven by young people asking, ‘is there room in this city for me’, and so we decided we need to bring the movement to Australia.”