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ASd's avatar

I've started following housing/development politics over the last few years and have come to believe that NIMBYism is the most powerful political force in the country. And although I don't disagree with any of the great points in this newsletter, it is a very, very bipartisan problem. Some of the most ardent Biden voters in the country, with Sierra Club memberships and "Refugees are Welcome Here" yard signs, will wage years-long scorched-earth campaigns against increased density in their neighborhoods - or even increased transit options that threaten their street parking spaces. Getting more acquainted with this mindset has made me pessimistic about the long-term future of policies to address climate change, especially, because it will require tangible changes to this class's lifestyle. I don't think we really have a political language of "consume less" (land, plastic, oil, etc) that applies to individuals, on either the left or the right, but we're going to need one.

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Danielle Good's avatar

This reminds me of the book “Driving After Class” which gets into white middle class precarity/anxiety and how all consuming it can be to “keep up” — it reflects both what you’re saying about how easy it is to lose financial security, and all the ways possessive investment in whiteness pops up in mundane choices. (Also, as an *almost finished* anth phd at UT I love reading your cultural analysis. It’s resonant with my work and aspirational!)

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