Posting the quote by French philosopher Voltaire. Attended a civic program recently sponsored by the suburban city I live in. Popular topics came up which immediately elicited NIMBY (NOT in my back yard) and YIMBY responses (YES in my back yard). Increasing affordable housing (more multi-tenant apartments) and public transportation (train stations) generated negative reactions from long-time residents. However, the idea of attracting large businesses that generate high paying jobs excited most of the citizenry. The brief mention of a casino idea for the area created a furor from all sides given the downtrodden elements that might bring.

The ‘middle topics’ like improving public safety, attracting businesses, and beautifying parks galvanized locals for reflection and collaboration.

As someone who tends to lean YIMBY I kept quiet and stayed within the safe ‘middle topics.’ The public golf course clubhouse in my neighborhood recently closed and is being remodeled by the city. My question posited what that could become. Maybe it becomes a third place to discuss YIMBY and NIMBY topics. 😃 It was a question not at all important, but worth sharing to a citizenry preferring a boring ‘checkbox’ existence spent watering their yards. Of course, the fear of the unknown is legit in these geopolitically uncertain times.

What I wondered about are the younger generations who hardly had representation in this meeting room. What happens to children who grew up here? Will they want to live here down the road?

An assistant city manager pointed out that younger generations are different. They like urbanization, free-for-all socialization within large apartments, public transportation, entertainment districts, and riding their bikes and scooters to offices and bars.

The competition for this large and eclectic population will involve accepting different civic planning frameworks and social norms. The middle will be excellent if it caters to future population growth and to those personas that want to live here versus going somewhere else that’s more YIMBY.