News

How Affordable Housing Makes Communities Wealthier

The Urban Institute has a new research brief out on the local economic benefits of affordable housing, focusing on a case study in Alexandria, VA. Key takeaways: New affordable housing projects in Alexandria increased home values within a one-block radius…

Do “Area Plans” Harm Affordability? The Case for City-Wide Upzonings

Shane Phillips at the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies analyses the relationship between land values and upzoning in a new essay, “Building Up the ‘Zoning Buffer’: Using Broad Upzones to Increase Housing Capacity Without Increasing Land Values.” Phillips…

How Apartment Bans Keep Americans in the Poor House

A new literature review by Federal Reserve staff economists Jia et al (2022) assesses the evidence from the economic costs of reduced migration. In particular, the review adds context to the findings of Hsieh & Moretti (2019) that restrictions on…

California YIMBY Announces Expanded Programs, New Policy Director

Ned Resnikoff, Policy Manager of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative; Fiscal and Policy Consultant, California Legislative Analyst’s Office “We’re ramping up our policy efforts and Sacramento advocacy ” SACRAMENTO – Today, California YIMBY announced that Ned Resnikoff, veteran journalist…

LA’s Apartment Bans Promote Segregation – and High Housing Costs

Single-Family Zoning in Greater Los Angeles, a new study by Menendian et al (2022) at UC Berkeley’s Othering and Belonging Institute, examines new evidence on the relationships between exclusionary zoning, household income, home value, educational attainment, educational performance, and environmental…

Back on track: how California can build transit projects faster – and cheaper

New public transit projects in the United States are constantly over-budget and behind schedule. How can state and local policymakers fix this? A new study by Elkind et al. (2022) at UC Berkeley examines five case studies. Key takeaways: Local…

California YIMBY Statement on Passage of Student CEQA Exemption

State Legislature Acts Fast to Protect Students “Students are not pollution” SACRAMENTO – California YIMBY issued the following statement in response to the State Legislature’s passage of SB 118, a budget trailer bill that exempts student enrollment at the University…