NIMBY – Not In My Backyard – a phenomenon on the decline?

Neighbours complaining to the local authority about the noise from children playing outdoors in the nursery next door. Neighbours complaining about the teenagers in the playground next door – and the noise from the children playing. Intolerance is expressed in many ways and to planners the NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard – is hard to work with.

Neighbours will for instance complain that after the refurbishing of a playground the usage has increased, leading to an annoying increase in traffic. Future neighbours of planned play areas show up at planning meetings and voice their resistance against too appealing play equipment in the fear of too many visitors.

In Germany citizens may raise complaints and take it to court if too much noise is disturbing their private sphere. A worthwhile way to protect citizens from for instance noise from motorways. The problem faced by many local authorities  is that neighbours demand to have play spaces shut down or playgrounds’ opening hours limited because of noise from children playing.

In mid November more German regions, among those Rheinland-Westphalen, announced their initial steps to make impossible the shutting down or limitation of play areas due to human noise complaints. By a change of the law that will exclude children’s voices from the spectre of possible noise disturbances citizens can take to court, the local governments hope to make an end to the shutting down of playgrounds due to neighbour complaints.

In the United Kingdom, the Government’s 2020 vision for play has as one of its eight important themes: “Children and young people have a clear stake in public space and their play is accepted by their neighbours” (from Embedding the Play Strategy, draft, Play England, Adrian Voce et alt. 2009).