California YIMBY

The Impact of Land Use Planning on Wildfire Risk: A Study in Southern California

Over the past three decades, most new homes in California have been built in or near the wildland-urban interface (WUI). As catastrophic fires in the WUI grow worse with climate change, effective fire-risk reduction strategies are essential. In Land Use…

Calling the Bluff: First the Reforms, Then the Funds

Housing costs are a contentious political issue in most American cities. Demands for building more “affordable housing” run up against a variety of politically-powerful stakeholders, who are ambivalent (at best) about neighborhood change; many constituents are fiercely opposed to even…

California YIMBY Statement on Passing of Donald Shoup

UCLA Urban Planning Professor Transformed California, National Land Use “Professor Shoup was a testament to the value of transformative policy backed by solid analysis“ SACRAMENTO – Today, California YIMBY issued the following statement on the news of the passing of UCLA…

Enhancing Mobility for Older Adults: Insights from Land Use in the U.S. and Japan

As America’s population ages, the need to provide safe and efficient mobility from far-flung suburbs and subdivisions grows more acute. Our current transportation systems, land use, and development patterns all but mandate private car ownership and driving – which is…

How-To ADU: The Handbook

Over the past eight years, California lawmakers have adopted dozens of reforms designed to make it easier for homeowners to build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), which are sometimes referred to as “granny flats,” in-law units, or casitas. To help homeowners,…

Construction Costs Up: Time is Money in New Housing

In a report for the RAND Corporation, Jason M Ward looks at construction costs for permanent supportive housing funded by Los Angeles Measure HHH, a 2016 ballot initiative that required the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for projects with…

The Biggest Move in Climate Action: Legalize Infill Housing

Adding to a growing body of research on the intersections between climate and housing policy, a new report prepared for the Colorado Energy Office looks at the impact of various land use policies on residential growth and greenhouse gas emissions…