NIMBYism
How an ‘Aversion to Change’ Worsens the Housing Crisis
A long-standing tradition of opposing multifamily housing construction continues to hamper housing production even as demand for affordable options grows.
The YIMBY-NIMBY Debate Gets 'Uninteresting'
Labels like "YIMBY" and "NIMBY" may be crude—but so what? One of them wants to solve America's housing crises. The other does not. Un-housed and under-housed people cannot wait for a perfect ideology to come along, writes Josh Stephens.
What Is NIMBYism and How Do Affordable Housing Developers Respond to It?
NIMBYism is often expressed as concerns about crime, congestion, schools, property values, and “quality of life.” But when developments are built these fears rarely come to pass.
NIMBY Politics Sway the Fight to Contain Coronavirus
A week after the Orange County city of Costa Mesa filed a restraining order against the federal government and the state of California over the use of a state-owned facility as an isolation site for coronavirus patients, the feds dropped the plan.
Op-Ed: Only Half of San Francisco is Changing
Using a mid 20th-century painting as his point of reference, Benjamin Schneider points out that the vast, disruptive changes we often associate with San Francisco are only affecting the city's eastern side.
'Yes In God's Backyard' Offers a New Way Forward for Housing Advocates
San Diego housing advocates have coined a new term: "YIGBY," or "Yes in God's Backyard," to advance prospects for affordable housing development on property underutilized by houses of worship. The city's planning department is receptive.
Study Shows Segregation Linked to Housing Shortage in Massachusetts
A study from the Boston Foundation shows that besides homelessness and housing costs, Massachusetts housing debt also fuels the racial wealth gap and segregation.
Op-Ed: Lakewood's Growth Cap Is 'Climate Arson'
In a scathing response to arguments in favor of a "slow growth" ordinance in Lakewood, Colorado, Mike Eliason rebukes the idea that capping growth is a green policy.
How One Town Solved its ADU Regulation Challenges
Against opposition, the town of Durango, Colorado has successfully found a way to permit accessory dwelling units and legalize those that already existed under the radar.
Texas State Legislators Aim to Reduce Their Own Housing Sway
Current Texas law grants state representatives significant power over whether affordable developments receive federal tax credits. Controversially, several representatives have proposed the reduction of their own authority in that regard.
Momentum Builds for Public Housing in California
A "white supremacist" law that blocks public housing in the state is up for repeal—again.
Affordable Housing Cap-and-Trade Idea Resurfaces
In New Jersey, a cap-and-trade system existed for two decades and appeared to just perpetuate housing and social inequities. But now legislators and researchers are considering it again.
Beverly Hills Students Protest Subway Construction
Students from Beverly Hills staged a high-visibility "walkout" to protest L.A. Metro's extension of the Purple Line subway past Beverly Hills High School.
City's Opposition to BART TOD Bill Factors into City Manager's Retirement
Steven Falk, city manager for 22 years of the East Bay enclave of Lafayette, expressed frustration with the city's resistance to infill development, calling it incompatible with addressing "the most significant challenges of our time."
'Move to Buffalo' Is No Excuse
One common argument against building new housing in high cost cities is that people priced out of those cities can always move somewhere cheaper. This post responds to that claim.
Billionaires Row Residents Sue to Block Homeless Shelter
The denizens of the luxury apartments near Central Park oppose the "expense" of a new homeless shelter.
Editorial Exposes Bay Area Housing Hypocrisy
Cities can't have it both ways on the housing crisis, asserts an SF Chronicle editorial. Case in point: Berkeley passes a resolution to declare homelessness a state of emergency while opposing legislation to allow BART to develop its parking lots.
Is Washington D.C. Preserving Buildings or Hoarding Them?
A piecemeal, reactive approach to historic preservation in the capital may burden the future with too many buildings of "middling merit."
Op-Ed: Washington's State Environmental Policy Act 'Off the Rails' in Cities
Drawing on a slew of examples, Dan Bertolet argues that Washington's State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) has been co-opted in ways that run against its original purpose: protecting the environment.
High Rents: Are Construction Costs the Culprit?
Rejecting the common argument that cities can never be affordable because of high construction costs.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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