1 The factors driving the escalation of community opposition to affordable housing development By Gethin Davison, Crystal Legacy, Edgar Liu and Michael Darcy Final version of paper accepted for publication in Urban Policy and Research and subsequently published in Volume 34(4): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08111146.2015.1118377?scroll=top&needAccess=true Abstract Community opposition to locally unwanted development is not inherently problematic, but it can be destructive where conflict between proponents and objectors escalates. This paper relates mixed- methods findings from a Sydney case-study where opposition to planned affordable housing projects was widespread but uneven. Five factors are identified that escalated individual opposition campaigns in this case: public notification procedures; sense of injustice; prejudice; strong campaign leadership; and the involvement of politicians. We argue that these factors will likely also escalate opposition to the planned development of other forms of critical social infrastructure, and that an understanding of them can help minimise destructive conflicts between proponents and host communities. Introduction Numerous studies internationally have shown that members of the public frequently oppose planned affordable housing developments due to concerns about the potential deleterious effects on property values and other features of the host neighbourhood, the appearance and maintenance of proposed buildings, and the characteristics and behaviours of prospective residents (Gallent et al., 2002; Iglesias 2002; Galster et al. 2003; Koebel et al. 2004; Schively 2007; Tighe 2010; Nguyen et al. 2013; Ruming 2014a, 2014b). 1 Although opposition to locally unwanted affordable housing is not inherently 1 Affordable housing in this paper refers to housing which accounts for no more than thirty per cent of gross household income for low and moderate income groups across home ownership, private rental, non-profit rental and government rental.