We know local land-use regulations can produce racial segregation as an outcome, but how strong is the effect? In a new paper, UC Merced scholar Jessica Trounstine finds empirical evidence that impact and intent are strongly linked when it comes…
Opinion: We Must Plan Racial Justice In Our Cities
Read the full article here … “The very people who support progressive change elsewhere use local control of land use to prevent structural changes in their communities that would advance the cause of racial justice. These changes are essential if…
As Trump Becomes “NIMBY-In-Chief,” California YIMBY Calls for Reform
Today California YIMBY co-founder and CEO Brian Hanlon released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s new housing policy and President Trump’s description of it on Twitter: “We had a strong suspicion when Donald Trump took office that he would…
The Math on Fourplexes: 1.2 Million Homes
A new study from the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies and MapCraft makes a compelling case for legalizing fourplexes statewide. While market conditions vary, the potential of allowing fourplexes in single-family neighborhoods is significant — and could make…
White Flight and Concentrated Poverty Still Dominate Most Cities
American neighborhoods are rapidly changing—and in our grimly unequal society, the poorest bear the worst of this change. In “American Neighborhood Change in the 21st Century,” the Institute of Metropolitan Opportunity at the University of Minnesota has published a massive,…
California YIMBY Statement on Senate Passage of SB 902
Today California YIMBY released the following statement on the passage of Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 902: “With the passage of SB 902 through the State Senate today, Senator Scott Wiener continues to be among our state’s strongest champions of ending…
Yes In God’s Back Yard
A new study by UC Berkeley’s Terner Center finds that 38,800 acres of developable land held by faith-based organizations in California could (and very likely would) be developed for affordable housing, if local land-use regulations would permit them. Two bills…
COVID-19 and Overcrowding: Communities of Color Hardest Hit
A new study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University has added fuel to concerns about the risk of pandemic spread in overcrowded housing. Its findings: At least 5.4 million households are at high risk of spreading…
Saying Their Names is Not Enough
George Floyd. Saying their names is important — but it is not enough. Black Americans who have been murdered by the police are not statistics, they are our friends and neighbors, they’re our fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers.…
The Bay Area’s Housing Deficit – Past and Future
Our friends at SPUR released a strong new manifesto in March, “What Will It Really Take to Create an Affordable Bay Area?” The think-tank has consulted several population projections, economic indicators, and good old fashioned principles of compassion to compile…