For the past decade, the fight to make it legal and feasible to build housing at scale in California felt Sisyphean. California YIMBY and our allies pushed against exclusionary land use policies, and a political class content to blame the…
Suburban Apartment Bans May Be Making Poorer Neighborhoods’ Rents Increase
When suburbs block apartments, rents in nearby poor neighborhoods may rise by about $27 a month, according to a new national study. Most research on exclusionary zoning has focused on costs within the communities that adopt it; this study finds…
How the Northwest’s Wildfire Crisis is a Sprawl Crisis
Wildfire hazard zones across the Pacific Northwest are expanding — and according to Sightline Institute, so is the public cost. Nearly 1.6 million residents lived in high-risk areas in 2023, up 8 percent since 2018, with population growing fastest in…
We’ve Built 500,000 Apartments a Year Before. Here’s How.
America is short somewhere between 2 and 7.4 million homes, depending on how you count, and half of all renters now spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Yet a new report shows annual apartment construction has held…
L.A.’s Mansion Tax Was Meant to Fund Housing. Research Says It May Be Backfiring.
New research suggests Los Angeles’s “Mansion Tax” cancels out a portion of the revenue it was meant to generate. Measure ULA, passed by voters in November 2022, adds a 4% to 5.5% levy on property sales above $5 million to…
SB 79 Is on Track: What HCD’s New Advisory Memo Means
Big picture: HCD has provided new clarity, and we are full steam ahead on SB 79 implementation. HCD just released a new advisory memo to help California’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations map SB 79’s coverage in the state’s 4 major metros.…
Economists Put a Price on Obtaining a Building Permit in LA. It’s Not Small.
If you want to build something in Los Angeles County, waiting for a permit takes time — and now there’s a study estimating the cost of that wait. Researchers find that vacant land with an approved building permit sells for…
The Most Bipartisan Climate Policy is Housing Policy
The average American spends 170% more time stuck in traffic today than in 1980, and a new report argues that this is because uncoordinated state and local zoning decisions have made car dependence the default, pushing people toward longer drives…
How Cities Use Government Housing Subsidies for … Parks and Roads?
Across the state of California, cities, school districts, and utility agencies levy “impact fees” on new housing construction to pay for roads, parks, sewers, and other public services. These fees are often applied equally to both market-rate and government-subsidized affordable…
Shining a Light on the Black Box of Building Codes
Modern building codes are designed to ensure the safety and comfort of the residents of new buildings. By regulating issues such as building materials, fire safety, stairway design, and other common building elements, building codes help make sure that our…