Can California learn from robust public housing development models around the world to fix its long-standing housing crisis? The Oakland-based advocacy group East Bay For Everyone (EB4E) has some ideas in a new paper. Key takeaways: The volatile business cycle…
Black Housing Heroes: Jon Wizard
I was appointed to Monterey County’s planning commission in 2017. Through my initial interest in housing, I found an incredible community of people who are fighting to improve our communities and make them more inclusive. The housing crisis is a…
The HomeWork: March 8, 2021
Welcome to the March 8, 2021 Main edition of The HomeWork, the official newsletter of California YIMBY — legislative updates, news clips, housing research and analysis, and the latest writings from the California YIMBY team. News from Sacramento Legislators in…
Black Housing Heroes: Tia Boatman Patterson
I have experienced everything from homelessness to homeownership. I grew up in public housing with a single mom who purchased her first home through a first-time homebuyer program in the mid ’70s. It used to be that a single woman…
The Elements of Housing Elements: A Phase Change to Greater Production?
Recent reforms to California’s Housing Element Law may change political incentives in municipal governments to permit more housing production as a default stance, with the cover of state regulators forcing their hand. That’s the compelling analysis offered by Elmendorf et…
Parking Requirements are a Mandate for Expensive Housing
An abundance of academic literature strongly suggests that parking requirements hurt American households by raising the cost of housing and increasing demand for automobile travel by artificially lowering the cost of car storage. Essentially, by reserving land for parking irrespective…
The HomeWork: February 11, 2021
Welcome to the February 11, 2021 Main edition of The HomeWork, the official newsletter of California YIMBY — legislative updates, news clips, housing research and analysis, and the latest writings from the California YIMBY team. News from Sacramento With the…
The HomeWork: January 15, 2021
Welcome to the January 15, 2021 Main edition of The HomeWork, the official newsletter of California YIMBY — legislative updates, news clips, housing research and analysis, and the latest writings from the California YIMBY team. News from Sacramento The Legislature…
The Little Engine That Could (Fund Itself)
Can public transit fund itself by building housing on its land? That’s the fundamental question Common Ground California asks in their new white-paper, “Transit Value Capture for California.” The idea from authors Derek Sagehorn and Joshua Hawn is simple: public…
Evictions and Pandemic: Deadly, and Preventable
COVID-19 has wrought incalculable tragedy and destruction on Californians, much of which has been exacerbated by an eviction crisis that could have been largely prevented with more robust interventions. A new working paper from UCLA public health scholars finds that…