California YIMBY

How America’s Wealthiest Neighborhoods Use Zoning Laws to Lock Out Renters

Across American suburbs, local governments use zoning laws to require large lot sizes, limit apartment construction, and mandate excessive parking spaces—regulations that effectively price out renters and concentrate them in just a fraction of neighborhoods. These rules operate like an…

Why Lot Size Requirements Make Neighborhoods More Expensive

America’s housing affordability crisis stems from an unexpected source: minimum lot size requirements. These are local laws that dictate how much land every new home must sit on. When a city says “every new house needs at least half an…

Historic Housing Legislation Passes in California

SB 79 Culminates Eight-Year Fight to Legalize Homes Near Transit “Nothing is impossible” SACRAMENTO – In a historic victory for California YIMBY and the YIMBY movement, the California state legislature today voted to pass SB 79, a bill that will…

The Housing Blind Spot That Undermines Climate Strategy

Housing policies influence 53 percent of climate pollution from the average American household by determining whether people can choose to live near jobs and shops in smaller homes or are limited to driving everywhere from bigger, energy-hungry houses. Yet federal…

How Blocking New Homes Hurts Poor Renters the Most

Building more homes — even expensive luxury apartments — cuts rents most in older, affordable buildings where low-income families live. Between 2017 and 2024, poor neighborhoods experienced rent spikes 10 percent higher than those in affluent areas. However, cities that…

California YIMBY Statement on LA City Council Vote on SB 79

LA City Council Votes Against Angelenos Council Opposition to SB 79 Continues Years of Anti-Housing Policies LA’s leaders are demonstrating their cowardice — the state legislature needs to act Los Angeles, CA — Today the Los Angeles City Council voted to…

Construction Costs Should Predict Housing Prices Across Cities. They Don’t. Here’s Proof.

The “hard costs” of building new homes — materials, labor, and builder profit margins — have a weak relationship to home prices across American cities. New research analyzing 75 years of data reveals that the cost of building new housing…