“Lulu”s and “Dame”s: Local Impacts of Major Developments

Abstract

It is axiomatic that land uses with regional or national significance also have local impacts. Recent writings originating in the United States have singled out one group of land uses which are regionally desirable or even necessary but which evoke strong, clear local opposition. The delightful acronym LULU (Locally Unwanted Land Use: see Seley 1983) describes such uses. They include cemeteries, rubbish tips, sewerage plants and can even include low cost housing. The dilemma facing land use planners with such LULUs is how to resolve the tension between local demands and regional (or national or possibly international) demands. The issues are usually fairly clear; resolution usually involves the dominance of one set of values over the other. Either the LULU is located somewhere more pliant if local objections are too strong, or else regional power dominates and local objections are too strong, or else regional power dominates and local opposition is defeated.