Upper Middle Class NIMBY in Phoenix: The Community Dynamics of the Development Process in the Arcadia Neighborhood

This article highlights the role that neighborhood activism plays in the development process. The article particularly highlights the Arcadia Camelback Neighborhood Association's (ACMNA) fight against, and collaboration with, developers at the intersection of 44th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix, AZ, where issues of place, community empowerment, and attitudes of not-in-my-back- yard (NIMBYism) played out. The role of neighborhood activism is evaluated using interview, survey, and archival data, including news media reports and meeting minutes, with regards to the ACMNA and struggles to stave off development. The results of the research point out that the community is essential in shaping the development process and that without community support including collaboration between communities and developers, major development projects face a difficult road to completion, this is particularly evident when wealthy neighborhood NIMBY campaigns are at the forefront of the debate over development.