Rents and home prices have skyrocketed across the U.S., spreading housing affordability challenges that once seemed to be contained to the coasts. But in places that allow housing growth, multifamily construction also continues to boom, such that prices could soon…
Playing With Fire: How Restrictive Zoning Exacerbates Climate Risk
Over the past century, the bulk of California’s housing has been built on the suburban periphery. In recent years, much of this growth has taken place in parts of the state prone to regular fires and floods, putting many California…
VIDEO: Workers Build California
“Let’s create thousands of good-paying jobs and build the homes we need” California YIMBY has released the latest in its video explainer series, “Workers build California,” a 90-second animation about how successful efforts to end the housing shortage and affordability…
How San Diego Kicked Off an Affordable ADU Building Boom
Thanks to recent YIMBY-backed reforms, California is in the midst of an accessory dwelling unit (ADU – a.k.a. “Granny flats” or “casitas”) building boom. Since 2016, new state rules have clarified and strengthened the rights of property owners to build…
Capturing the Real Value of Transit-Oriented Development
Over the past few decades, California has made historic investments in urban mass transit, as demand for transit-served neighborhoods has grown. Yet these investments are undermined by poor local planning around transit stations, with zoning codes often blocking the mixed-use,…
Against the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act Initiative
By Ned Resnikoff Note: The text below is from an internal memo I drafted for California YIMBY CEO Brian Hanlon and COO Melissa Breach regarding the proposed Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act Initiative. Melissa had asked me to conduct…
California YIMBY Announces Landmark Legislation to Align Housing, Land Use, and Climate Policy
“Housing and Climate Solutions Act” Legalizes Climate-Safe Housing, Addresses Sprawl; Bill Includes Land Conservation Measures, Incentives for Walkable Neighborhoods “The most important climate legislation of the decade” SACRAMENTO – Today, California YIMBY joined with The Nature Conservancy to co-sponsor Assembly Speaker…
When the “No Parking” Sign Applies to Your Home
California is in the throes of a worsening homelessness crisis. While street homelessness – people living in tents, cardboard boxes, and other makeshift structures – receives the bulk of the attention, half of all unhoused people live out of cars,…
Planning for Traffic: How “Junk Science” Harms Our Cities
Traffic impact analyses are an important feature of US land-use regulation. In theory, they estimate how much car and truck traffic might be generated by new homes or businesses, allowing regulators to charge developers the fees and other concessions necessary…
How NIMBYs Hijacked CEQA
The SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles is a testament to the ability of elected officials to streamline new developments to accelerate construction and save money. The stadium famously qualified for streamlining under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA –…