NIMBY Attitudes, Homelessness, and Sanctioned Encampments: A Longitudinal Study in Denver

Abstract

Many U.S. cities have introduced sanctioned encampments (SEs) for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) to help address this growing crisis. In many cases, SEs have sustained significant NIMBY opposition. In this article, we use a longitudinal survey to examine which socio-spatial factors and personal characteristics of local residents affect support for SEs at the time of their siting and 6 months after their implementation. We find that support for SEs increases over time, is lower among homeowners and more politically conservative residents, and is higher among people believing that homelessness is the result of structural failures.