Blog Posts

The Next Phase of California’s Pro-Housing Reforms By Eduardo Mendoza California is finally making it easier to build more housing – but the next fight is whether people like what gets built. Ugly and cheap-looking buildings can turn housing-neutral voters…

Since it first passed landmark climate legislation in 2006, California has been focusing on squeezing climate pollution out of every sector of its economy – and much of this has been successful. But California’s relative success in areas like electricity…

Rising home prices appear to be a boon to many, but the same mechanism that leads to higher property values – severe constraints on home building – reduces real living standards by forcing families to pay more for worse housing…

Young families are willing to pay a premium for apartments with more bedrooms, yet a significant share of developers are overlooking this profitable market in favor of smaller, one-bedroom homes, according to new research.  In “Homes for Young Families Part…

New research reveals that rising U.S. housing costs may be responsible for an 11% drop in children being born between 1990 and 2020, compared to a scenario in which rents had remained constant at 1990 levels.  This decline, which accounts…

In pursuit of more affordable housing for young families and first-time homebuyers, cities across the US are legalizing “missing middle” housing. But the reforms passed in many cities often fail to produce new homes. A deep dive into a Memphis,…

Lower-income Americans spend over 30% of their after-tax income on transportation, a burden driven by states prioritizing highways over transit. New research argues the high cost of transport reflects a policy failure, but one that can be reversed and lead…

October 2025 On behalf of California YIMBY, I respectfully submit the following comments on future proposed draft recommendations for the State Fire Marshal’s Single-Stair Study.  California YIMBY is a statewide housing policy and advocacy organization that focuses on making our…

In 2023, four people died in apartment fires in buildings constructed since 2010, out of 8.3 million Americans in those buildings. That’s 0.5 deaths per million. Compare that to single-family homes: 7.6 per million, fifteen times higher.  In “Modern Multifamily…

When Minneapolis converted an abandoned Ford auto plant into a dense neighborhood, it created thousands of union construction jobs while making housing more affordable. A 22-year analysis reveals that smart growth policies like these consistently produce more construction work, higher…