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 –…
Is SB 9 Working? Here’s What Early Data Reveals
In 2021, the passage of SB 9 in California made history by ending single-unit zoning, and making it legal to build up to four homes on properties that had previously only permitted one. The bill made headlines, as single-unit zoning…
California YIMBY Joins Labor, Affordable Housing Leaders on SB 423
Expansion of SB 35 to Cover Mixed-Income Housing – Powerful Law Built 1,000’s of Homes “Good housing policy leads to affordable homes and good jobs” SACRAMENTO – Today, California YIMBY joined with the California Housing Consortium, the California Conference of…
(Re)-legalize corner stores? Ja, natürlich
American zoning is predicated on the idea that residential, commercial, and industrial uses should all be strictly segregated—indeed, to an unusual degree by international standards. Research by Hirt (2010) compares American zoning to German zoning to reveal how much more…
The Single Stairway to Heaven
While the broader housing shortage is driving up housing costs for a huge share of the population, many cities face an acute shortage of family-sized units in particular. In a new blog post, Andrew Justus of the Niskanen Center argues…
It Actually Takes More than an (Urban) Village
To stimulate housing production, many California cities have experimented with loosening their restrictive land-use regulations. Yet not all of these reforms have been equally successful in producing housing. Indeed, Gabbe et al. (2021) find evidence that San Jose’s “urban villages”…