YIMBY
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.
[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.
[35] Surveys of both the mass public and of elected officials show that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to support dense, multifamily housing.
"[36] A major part of the political coalition aligned with the movement include environmentalists and proponents of sustainability, which support measures to legalize higher density for a variety of reasons.
They see increased housing density as a way to stimulate economic growth, foster innovation, and improve productivity by encouraging the free flow of people and ideas.
A 2019 study by Chang-Tai Hsieh and Enrico Moretti in the American Economic Journal found that liberalization of land use regulations would lead to enormous productivity gains.
[42] The free market faction, unlike liberals, believes that while higher-density housing should be allowed, it shouldn't be forced within existing cities solely for environmental reasons, with figures like libertarians,[43] and moderate free-market advocates like Matt Yglesias[44] opposing urban growth boundaries.
[49][50] In local elections, opposition to YIMBY policies is particularly pronounced; studies show that voter turnout among landowners nearly doubles when zoning issues are on the ballot.
[53] The origins of the modern YIMBY movement are separate from existing tenants' rights groups,[54] which are suspicious of their association with young, white technology workers[55] and may be wary of disrupting the status quo, which allows incumbent groups to use discretionary planning processes to negotiate for benefits while slowing development in general.
[59][60] Right-wing figures such as Donald Trump[61] and Tucker Carlson[62] have historically appealed to preservationists, local power brokers,[56] and homeowners concerned about their property values.
[63] Suburban residents often push for new housing developments to be concentrated in other areas[3] with higher proportions of BIPOC populations, rather than in their own neighborhoods.
[65] In response, elected officials and planners, seeking to appease these constituents, direct development into downtown areas,[66][67][68] where higher and more expensive buildings are constructed, ultimately raising the cost per housing unit.
[110] London YIMBY was set up in 2016, publishing its first report with the Adam Smith Institute in 2017[111] which received national press coverage.
This flagship policy has achieved a degree of recognition, being endorsed by former Liberal Democrat MP Sam Gyimah[113] and the former leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg.
[114] Other YIMBY groups have been set up in individual London boroughs and in cities suffering similar housing shortages, such as Brighton, Bristol and Edinburgh.
[117] Pro-housing policies proposed by Kamala Harris during her 2024 presidential campaign were among the first to bring YIMBY ideas to the national political mainstream.
[5][6][118] During his speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, former president Barack Obama stated "if we want to make it easier for more young people to buy a home, we need to build more units and clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations that made it harder to build homes for working people in this country.
[119] YIMBY activists have also been active in helping to enforce state law on housing by bringing law-breaking cities to the attention of authorities.
[120] Since 2014, in response to California's housing affordability crisis, several YIMBY groups were created in the San Francisco Bay Area.
[130][131][132] One group argues that "...more smart housing development is the only way to retain a middle class in pricey cities like Boston and Cambridge.
"[133] Several YIMBY groups, chiefly Open New York, have been created in New York City; according to an organizer: "In high-opportunity areas where people actually really want to live, the well-heeled, mostly white residents are able to use their perceived political power to stop the construction of basically anything," adding that low-income communities don't share that ability to keep development at bay: "Philosophically, we think that the disproportionate share of the burden of growth has been borne by low income, minority or industrial neighborhoods for far too long."[134].
[135] While this news website is not strictly related to YIMBY political movement, in an interview with Politico, the creator of the site stated: "Zoning is the problem, not development in this city.
"[136] In September 2018, the third annual Yes In My Backyard conference, named "YIMBYTown" occurred in Boston, hosted by that area's YIMBY community.
[148] The first YIMBY conference was held in 2016 in Boulder, Colorado[149] and hosted by a group that included Boulder's former mayor, who commented that: "It is clearer than ever that if we really care about solving big national issues like inequality and climate change, tackling the lack of housing in thriving urban areas, caused largely by local zoning restrictions, is key.
[153] A UC Berkeley study found that this law opens up about 170,000 acres of land for potential affordable housing development across California.
