Engaged Edmontonian

Yes in My Backyard By: Giselle General

As the winter months capture our attention more, conversations on unpleasant but important topics come up again, such as homelessness, crime, snow clearing and other city services that affect our daily lives. Some of the decisions that can lead to long-term benefit, for example, having a homeless shelter or supportive housing in the neighbourhood, or having a bus terminal, library, police station, or higher density housing, are met with the reaction of “yes I get they are important, but I don’t want them where I live.”

This mindset is behind the acronym NIMBY, or Not in My Backyard. As we live in a city that is growing fast in terms of population, neighbourhood locations, and size, I encourage everyone to find a way to switch that mindset into YIMBY, or Yes in My Backyard. I highly recommend making time to speak out on ideas that you actually support, or for those ideas that make some sense but can be tweaked so they won’t be as disruptive, to give that feedback as well.

Here are some ways we can embrace this mindset and contribute positively to the changes and growth the city is experiencing.

Don’t throw away junk mail right away: It may look like a junk flyer, but a notice gets mailed if a piece of land near you will have a significant change, for example, when a lot that is a single-family home will be converted into a small apartment. Knowing ahead of time will give you a chance to share your concerns and suggest changes early on, instead of being surprised and upset that something drastically different was built in your area without you knowing.

Connect with your neighbours through the Community League: Community leagues are the “barangay halls” of our neighbourhood. By connecting and being involved, you and your neighbours can educate each other, give updates and even work together on addressing concerns when the city government proposes something that drastically changes your neighbourhood.

Register for Workshops and learn about city issues: The city offers workshops and information on topics like garbage management, urban design, zoning, and many more. Attending these can help you build awareness on how these topics are important to help the city as a whole, so that when decisions on these topics are made that affects you where you live, you have a deeper understanding and can strike the balance between supporting it and providing changes in its implementation.

Practice Empathy on services you won’t directly use right now: As an example, I know I’m lucky enough to not need the services of a homeless shelter or supportive housing, but the empathetic approach would be wanting everyone to have a safe space from the cold and not freeze to death. I know most people drive, but I rely on buses and good sidewalks, so I also hope that drivers would be empathetic towards my equal need to have good infrastructure to get around the city. For those of us who have been more established in Edmonton, think about how affordable, high-density housing closer to major roads and transit terminals could have helped newcomers in their early years here.

Edmonton has seen remarkable examples of YIMBY in action. The Blatchford development—a sustainable urban neighborhood on the former downtown airport—was once met with skepticism but is now celebrated for its innovative approach to housing and renewable energy. Similarly, the 102 Avenue Bike Lane and LRT expansion projects have shown how investment in infrastructure improves city-wide connectivity.

This is something everyone can do, regardless of citizenship. If you live in our city, you can use your voice and share how you want the city to be better. By embracing this YIMBY mindset Edmontonians can foster a city that grows responsibly, inclusively, and sustainably. Imagine the pride of knowing that your “backyard” is a part of meaningful, positive change. Let’s all say, “Yes in My Backyard!”