A new primer on California’s “builder’s remedy” by UC Davis law professor Chris Elmendorf explains the inner workings of a once-obscure state law that’s now making national headlines for potentially accelerating new housing in cities across the state: The “Builder’s…
SB Nein? How Cities Cheat on Housing Reform
A new analysis by David Garcia and Muhammad Alameldin (California YIMBY alumni) at the UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation unpacks the challenges arising from local implementation of Senate Bill 9, California’s landmark housing bill that ended single-unit-only zoning…
“Not in Your Back Yard:” How Tort Law Gave Birth to NIMBYism
In a 2021 Harvard Law Review paper, Maureen Brady explores the early history of exclusionary zoning and prohibitions on multifamily housing as they evolved from 19th century private tort law and “nuisance covenants” that were inserted into property deeds in…
It’s the Asphalt, Stupid: How Freeways Wrecked Local Economies
US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg recently announced a major federal grant for tearing down the one-mile I-375 freeway in Detroit, a monument to racial injustice that cut a deep scar through Black neighborhoods – and displaced 100,000 residents in…
Detroit’s War Against Our Kids
The United States is in the midst of a traffic violence epidemic, with motor vehicle collisions among the leading causes of death for children, and annual traffic deaths reaching 16-year highs. The increasing share of SUVs on the road is…
Stacking the Deck: How Public Comment Entrenches Bad Housing Policy
California regularly makes national headlines for the outrageous things said at public hearings about housing and related issues. But do these hearings matter? Do the people and interest groups speaking at these hearings reflect the broader public? And are their…
Leveling the Field: Recommended Changes to Public Participation Processes
Public hearings and related meetings are the core of the American land use planning process, but are they working to achieve the desired outcome of broad-based affordability, equity, and sustainability? A 2021 paper in the Fordham Law Review by Professor…
Statement on Senate Appropriations Passage of AB 2097
More Homes for People, Fewer Costly Parking Mandates “California has a housing shortage, not a parking shortage” SACRAMENTO – Today, California YIMBY released the following statement about the passage of AB 2097 in the Senate Appropriations Committee: “California has a…
California YIMBY Statement on State Investigation of San Francisco Housing Practices
HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit Cracks Down on San Francisco “The state is taking housing law seriously – it’s great news for housing affordability” SACRAMENTO – Today, California YIMBY released the following statement about the announcement by the Department of Housing…
Single-Unit Zoning: Locking Out Diverse Communities in Sacramento
The Othering & Belonging Institute (OBI) at UC Berkeley has a new report out on zoning in the Sacramento region, and their findings are a stark reminder of the racist and classist impacts of exclusionary, single-unit-only zoning. Key takeaways: Stephen…