YIMBY movement
Movement in support of infrastructure development / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The YIMBY movement (short for "yes in my back yard") is a pro-development movement that focuses on encouraging real estate development, opposing zoning regulations, supporting public transportation, and improving pedestrian safety. 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.[1][2][3] As a popular organized movement in the United States, it began in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 2010s amid a major housing affordability crisis and has subsequently become a potent political force in state and local politics across the United States.[4][5]
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The YIMBY position supports increasing the supply of housing within cities where housing costs have escalated to unaffordable levels.[6] They have also supported infrastructure development projects like improving housing development[7] (especially for affordable housing[8] or trailer parks[9]), high-speed rail lines,[10][3] homeless shelters,[11] day cares,[12] schools, universities and colleges,[13][14] bike lanes, and transportation planning that promotes pedestrian safety infrastructure.[2] YIMBYs often seek rezoning that would allow denser housing to be produced or the repurposing of obsolete buildings, such as shopping malls, into housing.[15][16][17] Cities that have adopted YIMBY policies have seen substantial increase in housing supply and reductions in rent.[18]
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.[19] Some YIMBYs also support efforts to shape growth in the public interest such as transit-oriented development[20][21], green construction[22], or expanding the role of public housing. YIMBYs argue cities can be made increasingly affordable and accessible by building more infill housing,[23][24][25]: 1 and that greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by denser cities.[26]