, Columnist
The YIMBY Movement Needs to Go Commercial
Deregulation of commercial real estate would lead to more mixed-use neighborhoods and more wealth — and taller buildings, too.
YIMBY applies here, too.
Photographer: Angela Weiss/AFP
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The YIMBY movement has so far focused on the deregulation of the residential housing market. In California, for instance, a variety of legal changes have made it easier to build more densely. In the commercial market, there is no real YIMBY movement — and not just because offices tend not to have backyards. What would “Yes in My Backyard” even mean in the context of commercial real estate?
A new economic research paper offers a hint of an answer: Most likely, there would be taller buildings, more mixed-use neighborhoods and considerably more wealth.