Though the California housing bill was a high-profile failure for pro-development activists, there are initiatives all over the country that carry its spirit.
Several weeks ago the controversial, high-profile SB 827 died quickly, but not quietly, in the California Legislature, but not before it cleaved the state’s environmental movement and generated a great deal of discussion about the impact of increased development on the cost of housing.
At CityLab, Nolan Gray writes that while the defeat of SB 827 was disappointing for YIMBYs, it shouldn’t be taken as a rebuke of the movement as whole.
There are, for example, several other housing bills in California with a similar theme, and “taken together, they would legalize a lot of new housing in the Golden State.”
Grey also cites initiatives in Boston, Minneapolis, Boulder, and Austin that aim to encourage development of new housing options.
“The defeat of SB 827 isn’t the end of the YIMBY movement,” Gray writes. “If this flurry of new state and local land-use reform initiatives indicates anything, it may only be the beginning.”
FULL STORY: The YIMBYs Lost in California. But They're Just Getting Started.
How SB 827 'Cleaved the California Environmental Movement'
Even before the bill was defeated, it exposed a major generational divide between anti-development environmentalists and their pro-density, pro-housing heirs.
Amendments Proposed for California's Landmark Pro-Housing Development Legislation
Amendments are circulating for one of the most-closely watched, and passionately debated, pieces of housing legislation in the country.
New York Times Editorial Takes Pro-Development Stance
The Editorial Board of the New York Times offers perhaps the highest profile support to date for overthrowing the status quo of slow growth and development opposition.
New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.
Rethinking the Role of Parking in the American City
In cities big and small, the tide is turning against sprawling parking lots, car-centric development, and minimum parking mandates.
Friday Eye Candy: 20 AI-Generated Cityscapes
AI-generated images are creating new landscapes and cityscapes, capable of inspiring awe or fear.
Planners Look to ‘Activity Centers’ for Sustainable Development
Existing hubs of ‘hyperlocal’ economic activity provide a model for urban density.
Federal E-Bike Rebate Bill Reintroduced
The bill, part of an effort to encourage active transportation for short trips and take cars off U.S. roads, would cover 30 percent of the cost of an electric bike.
Green Infrastructure Toolkit Launches on World Water Day
The Green Infrastructure Toolkit lists 25 actions local governments can take to transform crusty, impermeable urban landscapes into vibrant, spongy ecosystems that preserve water as a resource and protect against its potential destruction in floods.
Houston-Galveston Area Council
Houston-Galveston Area Council
City of Tulare
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
