Is retaining “neighborhood character” really a bad thing?

The Claim
YIMBYs argue that preserving "neighborhood character" is merely a justification to block housing development, maintain socioeconomic and racial exclusion, drive up housing costs, and prevent cities from evolving to meet modern needs.

The Strategy
Convince people that the desire to protect "neighborhood character" is just a coded way for current, older, and wealthier homeowners to dictate who can move into a neighborhood, often locking out younger generations and newcomers. Anyone desirous of any sort of aesthetic appeal, or concerned that their neighborhoods will be negatively impacted by the loss of yards and gardens, sunlight, and parking for residents and visitors is disparaged as a NIMBY. The accusation is that such people don’t care about the public good, and the great need for housing makes all their concerns irrelevant and selfish.

The Facts
Just like on so many other issues, YIMBYs have invented a line to fit their preferred narrative, not to reflect the facts. There is no mass movement against creating more housing, but the general public feels much more strongly than the YIMBYs do that the priority should be creating affordable housing. And protecting “neighborhood character” is not about what kind of housing is built (apartments, duplexes or triplexes) or who it is for. It is about building within the general scale and style of the neighborhood. Certainly, additional height and density is allowed (in any case, the state mandates it!), but it doesn’t have to be ugly and blocky and completely at odds with the architectural design and history of an area.

Disparaging people as NIMBYs because they are concerned that their neighborhoods may be negatively impacted by poorly-designed buildings and excessive development is just a way of trying to control the dialog and not talk about the real concerns.

The Bottom Line
Being concerned about architecture and design is not a bad thing. Caring about the livability of your neighborhood is not a bad thing. Wanting a small yard for your kids or grand-kids to play in is not bad thing. New development in character with existing development can foster the continuation of wonderful neighborhoods, and thus a charming city. Ignored, it can turn Berkeley into one of the most mediocre cities in the bay area.