News & Events

Big picture: HCD has provided new clarity, and we are full steam ahead on SB 79 implementation. HCD just released a new advisory memo to help California’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations map SB 79’s coverage in the state’s 4 major metros.…

SB 79 Culminates Eight-Year Fight to Legalize Homes Near Transit “This Governor has cemented his legacy as a pro-housing leader” SACRAMENTO — Today California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 79, a bill that will make it legal…

How is Los Angeles doing on housing affordability? Not good. The median home price in Los Angeles is now $930,622. That’s over 11 times the median household income – meaning the typical Los Angeles family does not have a path…

California YIMBY-sponsored bills lowering costs on ADUs and streamlining starter homes advance, a study found inclusionary zoning cuts homebuilding 32%, and California sued 5 cities for violating state housing laws.

More than a third of California cities and counties, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and fast-growing suburbs like Dublin and Irvine, require private home builders to set aside a portion of the homes they build at below-market rents…

One of the many levers that California cities control that directly influence housing production is the one-time fee they charge builders to help cover roads, parks, and other public infrastructure. A new RAND Corporation study by Lizhong Liu and Jason…

SB 79, California YIMBY’s signature legislation that legalized apartment buildings near transit stops throughout California, went into effect on July 1, 2026. Under the law’s provisions, jurisdictions throughout the state must now begin implementation, which includes various pathways to achieve…

Austin adds 120,000 homes and rents go down. Data from New York and Philadelphia shows upzoning leads to more housing production.

More and more cities and states have concluded that a key way to lower housing costs is to loosen rules, such as upzoning that lets developers build taller, denser buildings, and that construction will follow. A new Urban Institute study…

Austin’s median rent is 4% below the national median today, down from a 15% premium above the national median in 2021. The shift follows a decade of zoning and permitting reforms that enabled the city to add 120,000 homes, even…

Many of our 2026 bills pass their policy committees! Building more apartments is good for the planet, and we explore one reason public transit is more expensive in the U.S. than Europe.

America pays roughly 50 percent more per mile for public transit than comparable countries do, and a little-examined culprit is the community engagement process meant to improve projects. A new analysis from the Urban Institute finds that poorly structured public…