Locally Unwanted Land Uses (LULUS)

The acronym LULU stands for locally unwanted land use—a facility whose siting is resisted by local residents. Typically consisting of hazardous waste repositories, landfills, power plants, highways, and other projects that may pose an environmental or health risk, LULUs may also be prisons, low-income housing, shelters, treatment centers, and other facilities perceived as lowering property values and posing a security risk. A LULU may also be a facility that is resisted due to racial prejudice. LULUs are closely linked to the more common acronym NIMBY (not in my backyard), a term referring to the common position taken by local residents when faced with a LULU.

Geographers and planners take a particular interest in LULUs, because resistance to them illustrates the dynamics of political conflict in urban ...