More Housing? YIMBY, Please

The YIMBY movement is definitely on to something: In many parts of the world it is too difficult to build new housing. The result is that lower-income individuals are priced out of some of the world’s most productive cities, such as San Francisco and London, because of exorbitant rents.

That’s true as far as it goes. Still, there is the question: What can be done to bring about more housing? Homeowners, who may fear additional construction will damage their quality of life, aren’t always on board with the YIMBY movement (it stands for “Yes In My Back Yard,” in contrast to the more common anti-development “Not In My Back Yard” movement). The primary strategy of YIMBY forces to date has been to try to take regulatory authority for construction away from the local level, as California’s proposed bill SB 50 would by allowing the state to pre-empt some local restrictions. Japan has a good record for allowing new construction, backed by a strong national and weaker local system of land-use planning.