In my country, increased housing density, or new social housing builds, are routinely opposed by existing land/home owners in the area. Whether it's because in

In my country, increased housing density, or new social housing builds, are routinely opposed by existing land/home owners in the area. Whether it's because increased density would spoil their views, or make parking harder to find, or the social housing would bring in "undesirable elements" or lower their property value, the incumbents have a lot of reasons to oppose housing changes that would benefit society as a whole. Allow me to introduce you to the acronym NIMBY[0]. Often found in newspapers with their arms crossed looking stern in front of a building site. And you'd be amazed at what they can oppose - kindergartens, schools, even playgrounds (as they increase noise, and there's a risk of balls coming over the fence!) And planning laws that require authorities to consider submissions from residents are one of their best weapons - after all, it's typically the wealthier who can afford to own property, and so it's often the wealthier who can form groups that hire top tier lawyers to fight developments they're opposed to. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIMBY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIMBY