YIMBY

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The YIMBY movement (short for "yes in my back yard") is a pro-housing movement[1] that focuses on encouraging new housing, opposing density limits (such as single-family zoning), and supporting public transportation. It stands in opposition to NIMBY ("not in my back yard") tendencies, which generally oppose most forms of urban development in order to maintain the status quo.[2][3][4]

As a popular organized movement in the United States, the YIMBY movement began in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 2010s amid a housing affordability crisis and has subsequently become a potent political force in local, state, and national[5][6] politics in the United States.[7][8]

The YIMBY position supports increasing the supply of housing within cities where housing costs have escalated to unaffordable levels.[9] They have also supported infrastructure development projects like improving housing development[10] (especially for affordable housing[11] or trailer parks[12]), high-speed rail lines,[13][4] homeless shelters,[14] day cares,[15] schools, universities and colleges,[16][17] bike lanes, and pedestrian safety infrastructure.[3] YIMBYs often seek rezoning that would allow denser housing to be produced or the repurposing of obsolete buildings, such as shopping malls, into housing.[18][19][20] Cities that have adopted YIMBY policies have seen substantial increase in housing supply and reductions in rent.[21]

The YIMBY movement has supporters across the political spectrum, including left-leaning adherents who believe housing production is a social justice issue, free-market libertarian proponents who think the supply of housing should not be regulated by the government, and environmentalists who believe land use reform will slow down exurban development into natural areas.[22] Some YIMBYs also support efforts to shape growth in the public interest such as transit-oriented development,[23][24] green construction,[25] or expanding the role of public housing. YIMBYs argue cities can be made increasingly affordable and accessible by building more infill housing,[26][27][28]: 1  and that greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by denser cities.[29]

  1. ^ Tapp, Renee (November 2021). "Introducing the YIMBYs: Renters, housing, and supply-side politics in Los Angeles". Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space. 39 (7): 1511–1528. doi:10.1177/23996544211044516.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference SemuelsYIMBY was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Vargas, Theresa (5 February 2023). "Perspective | Meet Nimbee, the mascot who scorns bike lanes, development and change". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b "When Suburbs Go to War With Transit". Bloomberg.com. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference WSJ2024Ball was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference WAPO2024YIMBY was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Dougherty, Conor (2021). Golden Gates: The Housing Crisis and a Reckoning for the American Dream. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-525-56023-4.
  8. ^ Leonhardt, David (16 May 2023). "A Nascent 'YIMBY' Movement". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  9. ^ Einstein, Katherine Levine; Glick, David M.; Palmer, Maxwell (2019). "Gentrification, Affordable Housing, and Housing Reform". Neighborhood Defenders: Participatory Politics and America's Housing Crisis. pp. 146–147. doi:10.1017/9781108769495.007. ISBN 9781108769495. S2CID 226774677. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  10. ^ Matthew Holehouse (23 July 2014). "Boris Johnson: Nimbies pretend to care about architecture to block developments". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  11. ^ Axel-Lute, Miriam (17 November 2021). "What Is NIMBYism and How Do Affordable Housing Developers Respond to It?". Shelterforce. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Westlake council approves moratorium on manufactured homes in portion of city". 28 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Fast rail critics 'rich nimbys'". BBC News. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  14. ^ Andrew Galvin (28 August 2015). "Anywhere but here". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  15. ^ Fumano, Dan (17 August 2023). "Vancouver parents desperate for daycare slam city hall rejection". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 17 August 2023. City hall's licensing department rejected the application in May, after a handful of neighbours expressed worries about parking, noisy kids, and traffic. The daycare was rejected a second time by the board of variance, after eight neighbours showed up to a public meeting in June to oppose it.
  16. ^ "In Berkeley, it's the NIMBYs versus the university". Le Monde.fr. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  17. ^ "UC Berkeley forced to cap enrollment after NIMBY lawsuit". Morning Brew. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  18. ^ Kendall, Marissa (25 June 2019). "'YIMBY neo-liberal fascists' comment, perceived threats spark backlash against Cupertino planning commissioner". The Mercury News. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  19. ^ Ramos, Dante (14 January 2018). "Go on, California — blow up your lousy zoning laws". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  20. ^ Bliss, Laura (2 July 2019). "Oregon's Single-Family Zoning Ban Was a 'Long Time Coming'". CityLab. Bloomberg. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  21. ^ "YIMBY cities show how to build homes and contain rents". The Economist. 2024. ISSN 0013-0613.
  22. ^ "YIMBYs and Environmentalists Team Up at Last". www.planetizen.com. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT_Kuntz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian_YIMBY was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference MotherJonesYIOBY was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference Seattle_YIMBYs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference Governing was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference NextCity_Stephens was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Boraks, David (19 September 2019). "YIMBYs say yes to urban density and affordable housing". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 8 February 2022.