Invalid theory impedes our understanding: a critique on the persistence of the language of NIMBY

Abstract

The key thesis in Hubbard's paper ‘Accommodating Otherness: anti‐asylum centre protest and the maintenance of white privilege’ is that racial dimensions of opposition to asylum seekers centres are part of cultural NIMBYism. This connection of complex issues with an invalid concept obscures our understanding of the role of ‘otherness’ in facility siting discussions. The deconstruction of the contested NIMBY concept is illustrated by a brief review of wind power, which was mentioned as a field in which ‘otherness’ had not been incorporated.