Adam Williamson wrote:
A poll like this would have an inherent problem: it's ineffective
to
have *only* the people who are already in a place vote on whether a
measure to get new people into the place is a good idea.
Yet this approach is working fine for, e.g., Debian.
This is the same as the NIMBY problem in municipal politics: if you
give the residents of any area too much say over development in that
area, they will always tend to oppose it on the grounds that it's bad
for *them*. They have no inherent motivation to consider the interests
of other people who might want to live or work in the area, but who
cannot.
But the local residents are often precious allies in fighting things such as
new highways, construction projects destroying fertile soil, etc. that make
things worse for everyone by: accelerating the climate crisis, causing
pollution, eating up soil needed for agriculture, etc. So guess what, I
often find myself supporting this kind of local initiatives from the other
end of the city. Would you be happy if your city builds a huge highway right
through your previously quiet neighborhood? Would you find that fair?
Kevin Kofler