Across the US, housing has cemented its status as a top-line issue for state and local lawmakers. Rural, urban and suburban leaders are all wrestling with ways to jump-start new housing, legalize apartment buildings and preserve affordable options. Even at the federal level, where there are fewer tools to directly authorize or obstruct new homes, housing policy is the subject of a robust debate about the government’s capacity for getting things done.
While the “Yes In My Backyard” argument around housing is increasingly national in scope, the actual beats of this YIMBY debate are still tied to local politics, whether that’s New York’s City of Yes upzoning or California’s Environmental Quality Act reform.