The wiki man

14 August 2010

A fortnightly column on technology and the web

So here’s the big question. Is it possible for that same collective energy which drives Britain’s nimbys to be harnessed towards other ends as well? Can we create Imbyism? Are there templates for local decision-making that allow for far more intelligent give-and-take between individual and shared interests? One way it might work is if better technologies can foster local voting and debate — preventing discussions being dominated by an obsessive, petition-writing, chip-van-hating few.

Let’s take one obvious example — one the government seems not to have considered: planning permission. In southern England an acre of agricultural land is worth about £5,000; an acre of land with planning permission is worth around £1 million. At present, if planning permission for housing is granted for 100 acres, some farmer walks away a multimillionaire, while his neighbours (who must tolerate the new development) get nothing except an ugly view. An alternative would be to allow the neighbours to decide what they might accept in return for approving a development (nearer neighbours being given proportionately more sway). A new local school? A bypass? Conditions imposed on the architectural design and size of the homes? No council tax for ten years? In short, Facebook democracy would allow the wider neighbourhood to decide what permission is granted and on what terms.

A large force behind the aversion to change is actually not fear of change at all — it is fear of loss of control, and fear of the irreversible. If technology allows people to instigate change without losing control of it, we may see Imbyism yet.

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Tom Kaneko

October 7th, 2010 9:19am Report this comment

As a designer (of buildings), with aspirations to become a property developer, I know first hand the problems we face when getting anything done. The act of building is a thoroughly depressing process, overcoming bureaucratic hurdle after bureaucratic hurdle. Anything "different" will struggle and often die without lots of money behind it.

The result are buildings leave a lot to be desired (buildings are often cheaper than the land), as the only developers who can make a living are those who build tall and lots of units, or scrape through the cheapest job possible. And of course, you have to be a tough nut to bear all that bureaucracy.

Meanwhile, there is a shortage of planning officers in many councils - anecdotally, because saying no all the time saps their soul.

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