for those people, high density is desirable. but, for others, the drawbacks of high density, often outweigh the advantages. these are the people who go to loca

for those people, high density is desirable. but, for others, the drawbacks of high density, often outweigh the advantages. these are the people who go to local neighborhood council meetings and scream. also note that, in Los Angeles, the city council and the mayor can, and very often do, approve changes to zoning in accordance with the wishes of real estate developers (who usually donate to their political campaigns). it's not like LA's NIMBY homeowners are a tyrannical group with infinite power. they're very often overridden by the politicians. much of the drive behind LA's NIMBY movement is the absence of true city plans for homeowners to rely upon. the name of the game is spot zoning variances: a developer proposes a project which requires a zoning change and then pays off the local politicians with campaign contributions. homeowners, caught by surprise, react vociferously ... and then lose. that's LA's version of a "planning process". http://www.laweekly.com/news/city-halls-density-hawks-are-changing-las-dna-2152217 http://www.laweekly.com/news/city-halls-density-hawks-are-ch...