Objections to a Power Line: The Role of Personal, Place Attachment and Project-Related Factors

Public opposition toward new energy infrastructure is often labeled “NIM-BYism ” (Not In My Backyard), despite strong criticisms of the concept’s validity. Research on technology acceptance has followed two pathways: first, investigating the role of place attachments and sociodemographic charac-teristics; second, investigating project-related constructs such as perceived impacts, trust, and procedural justice. This study aimed to integrate these research pathways and deepen understanding of the specific role of place at-tachments by measuring intensity of attachment and specific varieties. A total of 503 residents of a town in South West England completed a questionnaire survey on proposals to construct a high voltage power line in the vicinity. A hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated significant effects of educa-tion, length of residence, the discovered variety of place attachment, and four project variables: positive and negative impacts, trust in the developer, and procedural justice. Conceptual, methodological, and applied implications of the findings are discussed