One of the things I do here is consider and think about the objections to growth/construction/development. I mostly disagree with them, as you probably know, but I try to understand them. More precisely, I try to understand the unstated logic or assumptions of NIMBYs, to the extent that there’s anything more than a kneejerk “whatever it is, I’m against it!”

And one of the assumptions held by some NIMBYs, I think, is that stasis is part of a sort of social contract. A place is the way it is, and that is, in and of itself, an indication of what it will always be, and what it is supposed to be. So development and new residents aren’t welcomed or seen as an inevitable step in the evolution of a place. They’re seen instead as violations of a promise...