Sean

The HomeWork: December 17, 2020

Welcome to the December 17, 2020 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.     December 7th was…

Why Do Homeowners Choose to Build ADUs?

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) have been touted as a secret weapon that could make a big dent in California’s housing shortage. As regulators work to promote them, we must continue to investigate: what conditions actually lead to more ADU construction?…

The Impact of Minimums: A Little, or a Lot?

A new working paper analyzes an oft-forgotten aspect of land-use policy: The impact on affordability of minimum lot sizes, which cities use to set the smallest allowable square footage for individual parcels of land. This seemingly minor detail can have…

Meet Gabriella

We all know the rent is too damn high. In California, we’ve grown accustomed to housing shortages, crushing rents, endless commutes, escalating homelessness, destruction of agricultural lands, and the worst air pollution in the United States. But it doesn’t have…

New Market-Rate Housing Reduces Rents in the Neighborhood

A new working paper from UC Berkeley Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics PhD candidate Kate Pennington offers compelling evidence that new market-rate housing in San Francisco reduced rents for existing residents while providing more amenities in the neighborhood. The…

The HomeWork: September 23, 2020

Welcome to the September 23, 2020 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  …

Making ADUs Pencil: Opening Up New Sources of Funding

California has made great progress in enabling more homebuilding by removing barriers to the construction of backyard cottages, also known as “Granny Flats” or Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). However, more work remains to be done, particularly to incentivize their construction…